The Moment of Truth
by britt1110
Summary: After a gold medal win at the Grand Prix Final, Yuri and Victor officially get engaged and start to plan their wedding. They spend time reminiscing as the big day approaches, but things from Victor's past start to stir up the planning process and threaten to ruin the wedding altogether. Learn about the secrets of Victor's past as the couple overcomes struggles together.
1. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

**The Moment of Truth**

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

It's the day of the Grand Prix final once more. Yuri Plisetski was the last skater to go, and everyone was anxiously awaiting his final score. So far Yuri Katsuki was in first place with Victor Nikiforov close behind in second. Victor wondered if Yurio would either score above both him and Yuri and take first place, or if his score would be high enough to beat his own, pushing Plisetski to second, and putting Victor in third. The final score pops up and the crowd cheered.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there you have it! Yuri Plisetski's final score putting him in third place! That means our top three skaters are Yuri Katsuki in first place, Victor Nikiforov in second and Yuri Plisetski in third!" an announcer stated

Yuri cupped his hands over his mouth trying to contain his emotion, not sure if he wanted to cry, scream, or some combination of both. Victor was ecstatic and immediately threw himself at Yuri in a warm, tight embrace. Yuri, was speechless, he couldn't actually believe what was happening, that he finally earned his gold metal, and even beat Victor. The whole world seemed to stop for him, before reality finally set in. The other skaters that sat around him were all congratulating him.

"Yuri! You did it!" Victor said overjoyed.

"I… I did it!" Yuri says as tears begin to roll down his face.

As the competition concluded, Yuri and Victor headed down to the award ceremony. On their way back down to the ice, they ran into Yurio. They told him that he did a great job, and he congratulated them both, sullenly. The three of them proceed together, with cameras and reporters trying to swarm them. When the three of them arrive back out on the ice, they were greeted with more cheering, and bouquets of flowers. Yuri Katsuki was handed a large bouquet and his gold medal was draped over his neck. He felt his heart flutter and he stepped up to the first place spot on the podium. Next was Victor, who received a decent sized bouquet and the silver medal. He promptly took his place next to Yuri on the stand. Yurio did the same and stood on the third place platform. The three of them smiled and waved to the cameras and adoring fans as camera shutters went off and fans screamed for their favorite skaters.

The ceremony wrapped up and spectators began to leave the ice rink. The top three skaters stuck around for photos and quick interviews. Yurio didn't stick around very long though. Many reporters kept asking Yuri how it felt to be in first place after being at the bottom, then in second in previous years. Others questioned Victor about being beaten by his partner and trainee. Victor couldn't be happier for Yuri. He's worked so hard and improved so much that he deserved this win. Something began resonating in Victor the moment Yuri's win was announced, and he couldn't quite figure out what it was until now. It was ringing loud and clear for him. As crowds began to die down around them, Victor had more of a chance to talk to Yuri. Yuri held up his shiny gold medal with a smile stretched across his face.

"So are you going to kiss it now?" Yuri asked.

Victor took the piece of metal and pressed his lips against it.  
"You did fantastic Yuri. I'm so proud of you." He replied, "And now that you've won gold you know what that means?"  
Yuri knew immediately what it meant before Victor even got down on one knee.

"What do you say, let's finally get married?" Victor asked holding Yuri's hands and looking up into his glimmering brown eyes.

Yuri was made speechless yet again, but he nodded his head feverishly as tears of joy began to roll down his cheeks. Victor stood up and the two emphatically embraced. The few photographers and reporters that were still sticking around began snapping pictures of the tender moment all at once while trying not to disturb the pair and ruin the moment. While the two wore matching rings and everyone considered them engaged already, this moment made it official. What few reporters remained ran up to them and bombarded them with an array of questions. Yuri started to become overwhelmed after everything that just happened in such a short amount of time. Victor could sense this and opted to not do anymore interviews for the rest of the day. He only answered yes to one question, that being "Was that what we all here think it was". And with that, Victor and Yuri made their way back to the locker room, to get changed and head back to their hotel room.

Once back at their hotel room, Victor requested a bottle of champagne and two flutes for the two to celebrate with. Yuri had calmed down quite a bit now that all the sounds and people had dissipated. He was still happy about everything that had happened today, but more able to focus on them without a ton of people throwing questions at him all at once. As Yuri lay on his back on the bed letting everything sink in, he got a phone call. It was his mother congratulating him, and telling him how proud she was. As Yuri was on the phone with his mother, room service knocked on the door with the champagne Victor asked for. He proceeded to go through the process of removing the cork as Yuri told his mom about his soon to be marriage. As much as Yuri would love to stay on the phone with his mother, he wanted nothing more than to relax for the rest of the day. After letting his mother shower him with praise for just a bit longer, he began to wrap things up over the phone. Yuri said his goodbyes, and with that, Victor handed him a glass of champagne.

"To us!" Victor said cheerfully.  
"To us." Yuri repeated, as the two toasted their glasses and took a sip.

"Also to your first place win!"  
"And achieving my goals!" Yuri added.

The two of them finished off their glasses then poured a second round.

"I'm so excited, we're finally getting married!" Victor exclaimed.

"Yeah, it feels great that this is finally happening. That we can make this official."

"Now we have to start planning for a wedding. We need to pick a date, a venue, a theme, suits, guests, flowers…" Victor continued rambling off things to plan for.

"Uhh, don't you think it's a little bit early to start planning all of this wedding stuff now?"  
"Well, nothing has to be set in stone. We could at least pick a date sometime soon though. Come on Yuri, at least have a little fun with this before we have to get serious about it."

"Well, I was thinking, maybe we could get married back in Japan, during cherry blossom season" Yuri suggested.  
"Yuri! That sounds like a marvelous idea!"

Victor went on rambling about wedding ideas while Yuri listened, suggesting ideas here and there. He mostly just listened and admired Victor's excitement. As Victor was talking, Yuri began to think about his life thus far. He wondered how had he gotten to this point. So much has changed for him in such short of time. If anything, he was just glad to spend this moment with Victor. The more he thought, however, the more he couldn't shake this one thing now invading his thoughts.

"Hey, Victor, can I ask you something?"

"Of course,"  
"Why me?"  
"Huh? What do you mean?"  
"Why me, why did you choose me? Of all the people who love and admire you, who would kill to have you as their coach and create short programs for them, you chose me. Why? You've been my idol for as long as I can remember, how did I become so lucky as to have you as my coach, and now soon my husband?"

Victor paused for a moment to collect his thoughts.

"Well, Yuri. There was just, something about you that I admired. Here was this guy that came in dead last, and yet... You had this passion in you that sparked something in me, and I wanted to unleash that. I wanted to see its full potential. You latched onto me, drunkenly, but with a sincere desire. You only asked that I come to your parent's hot spring, but then you asked me to be your coach. You didn't want fame, you didn't even want to beat me, you wanted to become a better skater, a better you. And then that video of you recreating my routine. I saw that passion again, but I couldn't figure out why you didn't show that on the ice. And then I found myself giving you critiques and thinking of how you could make it better, and that's when I realized I could be your coach. I could release your inner Eros. I found myself wanting to know more about you and wanting to see your full potential, and you showed me that tonight."

Victors cheeks were slightly red and he couldn't contain the grin that swept across his face as he thought of all the reasons why he loved Yuri. Yuri was also blushing and placed his hand over Victor's while staring at him in astonishment and complete adoration.

"Now I have a question for you" Victor said, looking up into Yuri's eyes, breaking his daze. "Do you honestly not remember anything from the night of the gala?"

"Ahh. Uhh. Well, you see…" Yuri said nervously stumbling over words. Victors eyes narrowed.  
"Truth is, I do remember more than I thought. I guess I was just hoping that it was all a dream, and tried to forget about it all…"

Yuri sighed as he prepared himself to finally face, and come to terms with what happened that night.

"I remember taking on people during the dance battle. Then I remember you challenging me, and thinking to myself, 'wow, this can't be happening'. I mean I could barely look you in the eye after the finals were over, and then there I was, dancing and laughing with you. I felt happy for the first time that entire night. I guess I kind of fed off of that energy and kept going with it… I don't really remember much else. All I remember is waking up the next day having had the weirdest dream. Turns out a lot of that was real though…"

The two of them remained silent for a while. Victor processing what Yuri said while remembering that night, and Yuri, trying not to let the embarrassment get to him. Yuri couldn't help but feel something. He felt guilty almost. This was the night that helped spark the beginning of their relationship, and he could barely remember any of it. Yuri could only imagine how Victor felt and what he was thinking right now.

"So, then you don't remember asking me to be your coach?" Victor asked breaking the silence

"…No, not really. I'm so sorry, Victor!"

"What? There's no need to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong" Victor replied reassuringly.

"I know, it's just that, I feel bad for not remembering the entire night."  
"You shouldn't feel bad either. Come on, it's not like it was our wedding night" Victor said as he gently jabbed Yuri with his elbow.

"Oh god, I promise I won't get that drunk. I actually want to remember the second best day of my life."  
"Second best? What was the first?"

"Getting first place at the Grand Prix final today!" Yuri says rubbing it in Victor's face.

"Oh ha, ha. Live it up now because just you wait, I'll take my spot back next year."

Victor leaned in close to Yuri, and Yuri went in for a kiss. The pair laughed and continued to revel in the joy of today's events while finishing off the bottle of champagne. They switched between sharing memories they had together and things they wanted for the future, to wedding ideas. Yuri, exhausted, lay back in bed and Victor cuddled next to him. Victor went on talking with Yuri agreeing here and there. After a while, Victor asked Yuri a question and didn't get a response. He looked down to see his fiancé soundly sleeping. Victor carefully removed Yuri's glasses, placed the on the bedside table, and proceed to sleep beside him.

The next morning Yuri woke snuggled next to Victor. He hadn't even realized that he had fallen asleep. He looked around for his glasses and found them on the nightstand. Victor was still fast asleep as Yuri made his way to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day. After a nice warm shower, Yuri entered the room to find Victor awake going through his phone. Victor looked up to see Yuri in just a towel.

"Good morning beautiful" Victor said.

"Morning, Victor" Yuri replied.

"Ready for the Gala tonight?" Victor asked excitedly.  
"As ready as I'll ever be. And this year I won't be embarrassing myself."

While Victor was on his phone scrolling through social media he noticed that he and Yuri were trending. Everyone was talking about the proposal and Yuri's win. There would definitely be a lot of chatter at the gala tonight. Victor and Yuri decided it would be best to announce their engagement when everyone was together at the gala. The two spent the rest of the morning packing their bags so that they could leave tomorrow, and the remainder of their time preparing for tonight's event.

After hours of deciding which color tie to wear, and if they should wear matching pocket squares, the two finally had their suits on. They took one last look in the mirror straightening ties and making sure everything is in place. Yuri wanted to put a little more effort into his look this year since there would be a ton of pictures taken with the gold medal champion. Not only that, but people would be excited about his and Victor's engagement.

"How do I look?" Victor asked as he turned to Yuri.

"Gorgeous as always" Yuri said looking at him while fumbling with his own tie.

"Yeah? You're not so bad yourself."

Victor took Yuri's tie out of his hands and fixed for him and with that the two headed down to the ballroom. Once they entered the room, there was immediate applause and cheering. People were congratulating Yuri on his win and also on his engagement. Guests were also commending Victor the engagement as well, while also giving mention to coaching a gold medal skater. The couple grabbed two champagne flutes and proceeded to make their announcement. While most everyone in the room already knew, this would be their official statement. Victor called for everyone's attention and thus let everyone know that their marriage was underway.

"Attention everyone!" Victor said clinking the side of his glass with a fork. He placed his arm around Yuri and commenced.

"As many of you may already know, Yuri and I are engaged. Now, I know what you're all thinking. Yes, we exchanged rings sometime last year but mostly as "good luck charms", however I did promise to marry this cutie right here only after he won a gold medal at the Grand Prix final. And last night he did just that!"

Yuri was blushing, but only faintly after Victor had called him cute. He looked up at Victor and smiled as he prepared to say a few words also

"We just want to say thank you to everyone who has supported us and followed along the ride that is our relationship, and that we hope to see most of you at the wedding. Last night marked the start of new beginnings, so we should all celebrate tonight!" Yuri added briefly.

A toast was made and the night's events continued. As the pair casually chatted among the people around them. Phichit found his way to the lovely couple.

"Congrats you two!" Phichit said excitedly.

"Thanks!" Both Yuri and Victor said at the same time.

"So, when's the wedding?" The Thai skater asked eagerly.

"Well, we haven't picked an exact date yet, but definitely sometime in the spring" Victor mentioned.

"Hey, speaking of the wedding," Yuri buts in, "Phichit, I was wondering if you would be my best man."

"Of course I will!" Phichit said immediately as he wrapped his arm around Yuri to grab a quick selfie.

Phichit uploaded the pic to his social media with a caption about him being Yuri's best man. He conversed with Victor and Yuri for just a little while longer before going off to interact with the rest of the guest. Yuri went off with Phichit, while Victor went off to find Christophe. He was alone, with other guest, at the bar ordering a mixed drink. Victor approached him and sat in a stool next to him.

"Well, look who we have here" Chris said.

"The one and only" Victor said with a wink.

"Where's your fiancé?" Chris asked. "I was hoping to give you both my best wishes together."  
"He's somewhere with Phichit, I'm sure you'll run into him at some point tonight."  
"In any case, I wish you two happiness."  
"Thanks!" Victor said.

The two of them raised their glasses and drank to Victor's happiness.

"By the way, Chris, how would you like to be my best man?" Victor asked

"I'd be honored to stand by you on your big day" Chris replied delighted.

The night carried forward, and Yuri and Victor spent the rest of their time drinking and dancing to celebrate skating achievements and new milestones with friends and each other. Yuri was glad to be at this point in his life and even happier to have spent those moments with Victor. Victor was equally as happy and couldn't wait for what the future held for them.


	2. Chapter 2: This Is It

**Chapter 2: This is it**

After the Grand Prix Final and all of the excitement that followed was over, Yuri and Victor returned home to Russia where they took a small break before they had to get back to training and skating. In that time, the decided on a date to get married on and hired a wedding planner to get started on things. Now that they've chosen a date, they were returning to Japan for the weekend to visit Yuri's parents and to look at venues for the wedding ceremony. After a long day of travelling, the two finally arrived at Yutopia bathhouse. Victor and Yuri grabbed their luggage from the back of the taxi and headed inside.

"Mom? Dad?" Yuri called once they were inside.

"Well would you look who it is" his father said appearing in the entryway.

"Oh my! Yuri, Victor, it's so good to see you guys again!" His mother said not too far behind.

Yuri's parents went in to hug him tightly.

"We're so proud of you and so happy for you!" his mother said squeezing him tighter  
"You did a great job" his father said.

"Aww, thanks" Yuri said.

Victor simply stood aside and watched from behind.

"Eh? Victor, come on, you're not excused from the love either" Mr. Katsuki said bringing him in for a hug.  
"We're just as proud of you too" Yuri's mother said giving him an equally as tight hug. "We're just so happy for the both of you."

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Katsuki" Victor said.

"Oh please! Call us mom and dad now" Mr. Katsuki stated.

"Thanks… mom and dad" Victor said, the words almost feeling foreign to him. Victor fell silent for a moment and his expression became blank.

"Bet you guys are tired from all of that travelling" Mr. Katsuki said noticing the slight change in mood.

"I hope you two are hungry, you came just in time for dinner" Mrs. Katsuki said.

"Ugh, I'm starving!" Yuri complained with his stomach rumbling  
"Yeah, neither of us really had a chance to eat much today" Victor stated.

"Good, you boys get settled in. Dinner should be ready any minute now" replied Mrs. Katsuki as she headed towards the kitchen.

Victor and Yuri grabbed their things and went towards the bedroom to unpack some and settle down before dinner. They went to the room Victor used to stay in when he first came to Hasetsu since the bed was big enough for two people. Everything was more or less the same and Victor immediately started unpacking while Yuri flopped down on the bed instead. He felt like dealing with unpacking later than sooner. It had been so long since he's had one of his mom's home cooked meals and he was couldn't wait for dinner to be ready. Luckily, whilst Yuri was in the middle of day dreaming about his mom's cooking, she called both of them down to dinner. Yuri and Victor both went down to the living room and sat around the table. Mrs. Katsuki entered shortly after with dinner finally prepared.

"Since Yuri is a gold medal champion now, and to honor your engagement, I made you guys' favorite, katsudon!" Mrs. Katsuki said presenting the both of them with bowls that had a heaping helping.

"I've been dreaming of this for so long! Itadekimasu!" Yuri said immediately digging in.  
"Wow! Thanks, mom" Victor said shoving food in his mouth.

The two skaters proceeded stuffing their faces with food, while making conversation with the family, until neither of them could have another bite. Yuri's mom wanted to know everything about how they felt at the Grand Prix final, and anything she could find out about their upcoming wedding. She was so excited to see Yuri after he moved to St. Petersburg with Victor. She was also happy that her son found someone who makes him happy and who he wants to spend the rest of his life with. By extension, she felt the same for Victor and was happy to soon have him as a son in law.

"Victor, we can't thank you enough for all that you've done for our son" Mrs. Katsuki said.

"It was nothing really. I should be the one thanking you guys for having such a wonderful son" Victor responded.

"Aww, Victor… that was really sweet" Yuri said smiling.

"You make him smile like none other. I don't think we've ever seen Yuri this happy" Mr. Katsuki said.

"Geeze, you make it seem like my life was so depressing before Victor" Yuri pipped up.

"Well, you've been considerably happier with him in your life" His father observed.

"Of course, I'm happier now, but I was happy before then too." 

Yuri and his father went back and forth comparing how his life was before to how it is now. Victor simply watched the exchange take place before him, amused by both of their antics.

"That's enough now" Mrs. Katsuki interrupted before the conversation swayed "So, Victor how do your parents feel about all of this?"

"Huh? Well, uh…" 

Yuri briefly glanced over at Victor to try and see how he would respond to this.

"I kind of lost touch after I left" Victor finally said in a casual tone, not giving much detail at all.

He yawned and leaned back as he felt the sleepiness that accompanies a full belly take over him. Yuri felt it too, and as a chain reaction yawned himself. Yuri noticed the slightly concerned and confused looks on his parent's face, and he knew what was coming next.

"Man, it's been a long day. Dinner was really amazing too!" Yuri said before his parents could have the chance to ask any more questions about anything.

"Sounds like you two could use a nice relaxing soak in the outdoor bath" Mrs. Katsuki said getting up and grabbing the empty bowls.

"Ooh, that sounds like just what my body needs right now" Victor said.

"We have everything prepared for you guys whenever you're ready" said Mrs. Katsuki.

Victor and Yuri stood up and stretched, while Mr. and Mrs. Katsuki took the dirty dishes back to the kitchen.

"How about we take a soak together?" Victor whispered in Yuri's ear

"Of course," Yuri responded, "But first I'm going to help mom with the dishes a little bit. I'll meet you there."

Victor nodded and went back to the room while Yuri went after his parents in the kitchen. Once there, his mother insisted that she didn't need any help, but Yuri stayed and aided with the chores anyway. Mrs. Katsuki scrubbed and rinsed the dishes while Yuri dried and put them away. Even though she said she didn't need the help, she really did appreciate it. Plus, it was more time for her to spend with her son. She brought up memories of Yuri's childhood to see just how far her son has come. Yuri blushed as she brought up some embarrassing stories but overall enjoyed listening to his mom happily remember the life she gave him.

As she was thinking about her own son, Mrs. Katsuki began to think about what happened at dinner not too long ago when she questioned Victor. She decided to question Yuri instead to see if she could get more clarity from him. Yuri was taken aback for a moment, not sure how or even if he should respond to his mother. He was one of the few people that actually knew about Victor's past. He thought for a moment, then began to explain in vague terms what Victor meant. He didn't want to give out too much info as he felt it wasn't his business to tell, but he wanted to choose the right wording to get the point across to his mother. Yuri explained in simple terms why Victor left, and left it at that. He also asked not to really speak about it either. Mrs. Katsuki understood and didn't press any further. His father had just come back into the kitchen after helping Yuri's older sister, Mari, to catch the explanation. Mari entered the kitchen, not having heard anything, and offered to switch off with helping with the dishes instead.

Meanwhile, as Yuri and his family were together inside, Victor was outside in the hot spring, looking up at the night sky. He started thinking about how much his life has also changed since Yuri became a part of it. He hadn't initially thought about how much of an impact Yuri has had, but looking back on things, he realized his life was also happier since the two came together. He couldn't feel more sure about his decision to spend the rest of his life with Yuri. At this point, he couldn't imagine himself with anyone else. Just as Victor was about to become completly lost in thought, the sliding door opened and Yuri stepped out. He disrobed and entered the bath with Victor.

"I was wondering how long you were going to keep me waiting" Victor said.  
"Hope I didn't keep you too long" Yuri said moving in closer to his fiancé.

"Not at all" Victor replied kissing Yuri's cheek.

Yuri leaned against Victor, their bodies melding together. They sat together in silence for a while before Victor finally said something.

"Did they ask you anymore about it?" Victor asked.

"Huh? Um, yeah they did." Yuri said not realizing what he meant at first.  
"So what did you tell them?"  
"I didn't say much, I kept it simple. I didn't really give them the full story."  
"Why not?"  
"I… I don't really feel like it's my story to tell."

Victor didn't say anything. He only stared into the water.

"Besides, I wasn't entirely sure if you wanted them to know in the first place…" Yuri looked up at his fiancé, examining his expression, not sure what to make of his silence.

"You're not mad at me… are you?" Yuri asked.

"No, not at all. Maybe on a different occasion I'll tell them everything" Victor said smiling at Yuri to reassure him that he wasn't mad in the least bit.

The two went silent again. Yuri rested his head onto Victor's shoulder and closed his eyes as he remembered something that made him laugh. Victor rested his head on top of Yuri's.

"What's so funny?" Victor asked.  
"I'm just remembering the first time you came to Hasetsu and I rushed out here to see you actually here" Yuri said.

"I still remember the look on your face" Victor laughed.

"Yeah way to make a first impression. You came on pretty strong, you know, naked and in my home"

"And you don't suppose clinging on to me while completely drunk wasn't coming on strong?"

"Th-that's different…" Yuri said.

"I'm only messing with you" Victor said. "Remember how you refused to even sleep with me? Or spend any time with me? Now look at you."  
"I can't imagine a single day without you now" Yuri said lovingly.

The both of them laughed as they remember the first impressions they gave each other. Yuri looked into Victor's frosty blue eyes while he gently caressed his cheek. He started kissing his silver haired partner. Victor began to pull away, but Yuri lightly bit his lower lip to keep him there a little longer. Victor placed his arm around Yuri, and the pair began making out. Victor, with his arm still around Yuri, took his free hand and reached down in the water to start feeling him up. Yuri goes along with it despite part of him feeling like they probably shouldn't be doing that right now. Victor then started to kiss Yuri's neck, and just as he does this, Yuri's sister came outside to ask the two of them a question.

"Hey, you guys… uhh…?" She stopped when she saw them both.  
"Wait, Mari! Th-this isn't what it looks like!" Yuri stammered as his face became bright red.

"Really? Cuz, it looks exactly like what it looks like" His sister said unconvinced.

Victor removed his hand from the water, and said nothing only presenting a coy smile. Yuri was also mute and avoided eye contact with his sister.

"Anyway," Mari continued "mom and dad wanted to know if you guys needed anything else in the guest room."  
"No, we should be fine, right?" Yuri said now looking at Victor.  
"Yeah, everything looks good" Victor agreed.

"Alright then, I'll let them know" Mari said standing in the door way.

She turned around to leave but stopped to add one last thing.

"Oh, and by the way, if you two are going to go at it, maybe don't do it in the bath" She said

"Wha—we… we weren't going to…" Yuri trailed off his sentence realizing there was no point to try and come up with a rebuttal.

"Oh, weren't we?" Victor said whispering in Yuri's ear still only just loud enough for his sister to hear.

Mari scoffed and left the two men be. Yuri sank lower into the bath as he felt embarrassment wash over him and wanted nothing more than to hide away in shame. Although, while he rather no one had walked in on them, he was glad that it was just his sister, and not his mother and/or father instead. Victor chuckled to himself to laugh off some of the embarrassment then looked at Yuri with eyes suggesting they continue where they left off. Yuri instead suggested that maybe they shouldn't despite still somewhat wanting to. Victor and Yuri stayed in the bath for just a while longer before they got out and prepared for bed.

The following morning, the two arose and enjoyed a nice breakfast together. Today, they would be meeting with the wedding planner to look at three different locations that they narrowed down from a larger list. They spent a little bit of time together with the family before they went out to meet at the first location on their list. They arrived and their wedding planner greeted both of them and they proceeded to look at the grounds. The first spot was in a nice location. Victor loved the outdoor garden, but didn't care much for the indoor part where the reception would take place, while Yuri liked the indoor country club better than he had liked the garden. Neither of them could really agree on this one. The next location didn't really wow either of them. They had liked the photos they had seen online, but were underwhelmed in person. They mostly preferred this venue due to its location in relation to everything else. They could both agree on one thing here, that they weren't really feeling it.

They finally arrived at the third and final location. They started off inside by looking at the reception area. Both of them were really impressed and liked the space. The wedding planner then lead them outside and opened the doors from the banquet hall to the breath taking view. A stone path lead down to a small bridge that crossed over a creek that was connected to a koi pond. The entire garden was surrounded by large, beautiful trees. At the end of the path was the biggest tree with lots of branches covered in leaves, but come spring, it would be raining sakura petals everywhere. Yuri and Victor both took a moment to look around the garden individually before the both of them met up coincidently at the grand tree.

Yuri stood there beside Victor looking all around him. He stood there imagining himself walking down the aisle with light pink petals scattered about, then Victor walking towards him and the both of them standing together in the spot there were at now. Yuri looked at Victor with dazzling eyes and immediately knew that—

"This is it" he said out loud to himself.  
"What was that?" Victor asked breaking from his own fantasy.  
"Oh, nothing… I was just imagining what the wedding might look like. I think this is the place."

"Me too. Hopefully we can make our visions come true here."

The wedding planner who had been watching them from afar to let them get a feel for the place now approached them.

"I take it you two like this place" They said.  
"It's perfect!" Victor said holding onto Yuri's hands.

"We love it. Everything about this place is amazing."  
"I knew it the moment the both of you stepped outside and were speechless" The wedding planner said.

"Looks like we saved the best for last" Victor said.

"I guess that means I should get started on booking this place for your wedding day then."

Victor, Yuri, and their wedding planner all headed back inside to get started on booking the venue. A few signed papers and a down payment later, the place was theirs for their wedding day. Victor and Yuri were excited to be able to be getting married at such a beautiful place. They decided to spend a little more time in the garden's park area together while the wedding planner left the two of them to get started on other tasks and work that they had to do. Victor and Yuri held hands with their fingers interlocked as they followed the stream down to the koi pond. They watched the fish swim past for a while, before heading out for a late afternoon lunch. They then returned to Yutopia hot spring to spend one last night with Yuri's family before heading back to Russia the next day. Yuri and Victor had just completed a major step in wedding planning and were excited for what was to come next.


	3. Chapter 3: Amends

**Chapter 3: Amends**

After a long day of meeting with the wedding planner, Yuri and Victor returned home to go over the things they had planned out so far and what they needed to do next. They had quite a few bags in their hands from all of the shopping that they had done. Makkachin excitedly greeted the both of them at the door, then ran over to an empty food bowl. Victor placed his bags down in the living room then went to the kitchen to feed Makkachin. Yuri set his bags down too and immediately went through them to sort things out. As Yuri went through everything, he came across the box of wedding invitations they had picked out. He then remembered that there wasn't exactly a set list of people to send said invitations to.

"Hey, Victor, we should probably get started on the guest list at some point"

"Yeah, we should."

Victor didn't sound too excited about this aspect, and he has mostly avoided it up until this point, but he couldn't ignore this forever. He took a seat next to Yuri and helped him sort through the bags and talk about the list.

"There are obviously invites, like Phichit and Chris and the rest of the skaters" Victor started.  
"How about Yakov?" Yuri suggested.

"Yeah, he and Lilia" Victor said "Then of course there's your sister and your parents"  
"What about…your parents?" Yuri asked carefully, prepared to change the subject if needed.

Victor paused. He knew this was coming. He knew it would come up one way or another. Victor moved his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but didn't. Yuri knew very well that this made Victor uncomfortable, but he could also tell that Victor had something on his mind. He had noticed that Victor had been kind of off over the past few days, but didn't want to say anything. Mention of his parents sparked a wave of thoughts in Victor. Yuri debated between pressing on or trying to switch gears, but he sensed that it may be hard to switch topics at this point.

"Have you talked to them recently or at all? Do they even know…?" Yuri asked with caution not sure where this question would lead.  
"Yeah. Actually, I have talked to them recently…" Victor finally said. Yuri was shocked for a moment but went on.  
"O-oh! When was this? How did that go?"

"My mother called me about a week ago. She said she and my father want to try and make amends."

"Does that mean you're going to go visit your parents sometime?"

"I don't know. I— what should I even do?" Victor said as he looked up at Yuri.

Yuri thought for a brief moment so not as to leave too much time between Victor's questions and a response. Yuri, wasn't used to being the one giving advice, but when needed he knew he could.

"Well, the worst that could happen is things don't get better between you and your parents. Best case scenario, you and your parents patch things up and start new" Yuri replied.

Victor was silent again before finally suggesting that they continue with the guest list. They could always go back over it later, but having a general idea of who to invite was more important now. Victor already had made up his mind about his parents though. He just wasn't sure if the decision he was making would turn out right or wrong.

A few days went by and Victor still had his parents on his mind. This was the most he has thought about them in years. On this particular morning, Yuri woke up before Victor to go on his morning jog with Makkachin. Victor remained in bed until after Yuri left. He finally got up, and started getting ready for the long day ahead of him. He got in his car and began the journey to a place filled with familiar roads. A place he once felt comfort in long ago. He drove until he came to a sizable house with a long driveway. Victor got out of his car, closed the door, and approached the house. He hesitated a moment before knocking on the door. He finally did and waited anxiously. Seconds which felt like eons went by before the door opened, and a pale faced woman with bright blue eyes peered from behind the door to see who it was.

"Oh! Victor. I certainly wasn't expecting this. Please, come in" the woman said motioning for him to come inside.

Victor kept silent as he stepped into the home, following the woman inside.

"Honey! It's Victor" The woman called as she walked into the living room. "Please, have a seat. Can I get you anything?"

"No thanks." Victor replied finally saying something.

Victor took a seat in an armchair that was adjacent to the coffee table as the woman sat down on the loveseat nearby. A man about the same height as Victor with shoulder length hair in a ponytail had appeared in the living room and took a seat next to the woman. The usually cheerful and charismatic Victor had been overshadowed by a more anxious and nervous version of himself. He hadn't felt this way in years, not even while ice skating. Victor could hardly look at the man and woman right before him.

"Victor. It's been a while hasn't it." The man said jeering over at him.

"I'm so glad you decided to come over!" The woman said countering the man's tone.  
"Yes, we heard the big news." The man said, "So, who's the lucky lady?"

That took a dig at Victor and he could already see where this is going.

"Dad, you can't be serious," Victor said unamused, breaking his silence. "How can you know I'm engaged and not know—" he stopped himself as he felt anger boiling inside him.

"Oh, stop it. You know your father didn't mean it" the woman said, putting her hand on the man's. He took his hand away and looked sternly at Victor.

"You know I told you never to step foot into this house again until you've changed your ways." his father said coldly, repeating the exact words he once heard as a teen. Victor still felt the pain of those words stinging deep.

"So much for making amends" Victor said getting up ready to leave.  
"Victor wait. Look, we're still trying to understand" the woman said.

"Mother, you had over ten years to try and understand. What is there to still get?"

"We've supported you throughout everything, even your skating, why can't you just do this one thing for us?" said his mother.  
"Because it's not about you! Neither of you. It's not about who you want me to be with or fall in love with. If you truly supported me, you would have accepted things as they were."

Victor's usual calm and cool composure was long gone now.

"If you truly cared for and supported me, you would have never forced me to walk out that door at sixteen."  
"It was tough love" explained his father.  
"Love?! No, you guys didn't love me. You didn't love me after you realized it wasn't 'some phase'. You let me go because you rather not have a son at all than love one you have."

Years of anger and resentment began to swell through Victor. His mother tried to come up with an excuse but fell short.

"Victor, we loved you, we always did. We just…"  
"Then why didn't you love me enough to accept me for who I am?!" Victor blurted out, with tears stinging in his eyes ready to roll out at any moment.

The room fell completely silent. Victor took a moment to regain control of his breathing and emotions. He felt the tears coming, as memories of the past began to resurface, but quickly blinked them away. He wouldn't give his father any reason to start berating him again. He stopped the tears but the memories came flooding…

When Victor was only sixteen, he left his parent's house. At least that's what he tells most people when questioned about it. He usually tries to avoid the conversation altogether, but when he can't, that's the answer he usually gives and leaves it at that. Truth is, his parents kicked him out. His mother and father were very strict people. Everything had to be done their way and perfectly. Sure, they let Victor have some freedoms, but only at the cost of doing something for them or if it benefitted them somehow. Whatever they wanted they got with little to no argument. This clashed with Victor's carefree personality, but he had to deal with it as a child.

Things changed during his teen years. Not only were his parents strict, but they were very old fashion and had outdated views on a lot of things, one of those being relationships. A year before his parent's final decision to exile him, Victor had fallen for a boy in his grade. He had always heard his parents talk about how they can't wait for the day he finds the perfect girl to settle down with, but he never really had feelings for anyone. There may have been a guy or girl here or there but nothing profound. Besides, he was too focused on skating at this point in his life to be worried about dating. Not until this guy came along. Victor started to gain feelings for him and they started seeing each other regularly. Victor's parents found out about Victor's new relationship with this guy and weren't too happy about it.

His parents immediately told him to end things, but Victor refused which resulted in a fist to the sternum from his father that knocked him to the ground. His mother slapped him across his face then dragged him by his long silver locks to his room and chopped off half of his hair. The silky strands fell around him and he was left alone to cry in pain. In an effort to sway him, his parents would belittle him anyway they could. They were more strict than usual. They didn't allow him as much free time. He was only allowed to go to school, practice, then home, and he was never sure what kind of abuse he would endure when he got home. They would tell him that what he was doing was wrong, unnatural, disgusting, repulsive, and that this isn't how his life should be. His father would use his failures and weaknesses against him, blaming them on his love for another man. His mother soon began to ignore him, as if he didn't exist. All of this began to take a toll on Victor and his blossoming relationship which soon ended due to all of the stress.

After his first relationship ended, there was a sort of peace between him and his parents. Things didn't go completely back to normal, but he found wasn't scared to come home to his parents anymore. A few months after his first breakup, he found himself seeing someone else. It wasn't anything serious this time, but of course his parents found out. The hate and hostility towards him returned. His parents had thought the "problem" had been fixed after he ended his first relationship. After they realized that any tactics and methods they tried weren't working, his father came up with an ultimatum. One day, after a fun date night out with the new guy, Victor came home to his parents standing in the entryway with his bags on the floor packed for him.  
"What's all this?" he asked concerned and confused.

"You were out with that boy again, weren't you?" his mother asked rhetorically.

"Yeah…so what…?"

His father drew in a breath and stared at him dead in his eyes.  
"You are never to step foot into this house again until you change your ways."

At that moment, Victor felt his heart sink down into his stomach, his chest grow heavy, and his body became numb at the realization of what was happening. He tried to reason with his parents and even begged them not to do this to them. They remained silent and refused to listen.

"You know I can't… I can't just… 'change' " young Victor said defeated.  
"Well then you can't stay here," His father said firmly with no remorse. He went over to the door and opened it. "Get out."

And with that, Victor grabbed his things and walked out the door he had just came in. His legs felt light as feathers and nothing felt real to him as he left his home. With nowhere else to go, he went to the ice rink to spend the night where Yakov found him the next morning. He explained everything that had happened, and his coach kindly offered his home. He stayed with Yakov and Lilian for a few months, but after a while decided he didn't want to impose on them anymore than he felt he did and decided it was time to live on his own. After earning enough money through sponsorships and working, he got his own place at eighteen. He only returned to his parent's home one last time to get the rest of his things, never to return again.

That is until today. In the present time, Victor's head was completely filled with these memories of his past. He felt a range of emotions. Sadness and fear from the memories. Resentment, anger, and contempt towards his parents. He could still feel the bruises and remember each scar left on his body. He felt that numbness he had experienced before as all of these feeling fought for his attention. He felt like he was drifting only to be brought back by the sound of a woman's voice.

"Victor, we did what we had to" his mother said at last.  
"We just thought that maybe you would realize that what you were doing was wrong and that that would motivate you to want to come back. Clearly you didn't" his father said.

"You think I didn't _want_ to come back!?" Victor stated shocked and angry. "God, there were nights where I wished I were different, where I wished I could change— just turn it off or anything, just so you guys would love and accept me, but I couldn't. And I knew you wouldn't take me as I am… You made it _very_ clear how you felt."

"You know why we did what we did, right?" his mother asked.

"You mean besides your ignorance and hate? Yeah, you were afraid that I'd ruin the family name or your reputation" Victor replied. He paused before he went with what he said next.

"But I guess that's why you kept silent about what happened, because you couldn't admit to doing something as shameful as disowning your own child and kicking them out of your house."

His parents were silent, reveling in the truth of his words.

"You haven't been a complete disgrace. Sure, having a 'Living Legend' with you family name is great—" his father started to say.  
"No! You don't get to piggyback off of that. You don't get to take the time and hard work I've put in all those years, and act like you've had some part of it! Especially, when you don't even claim me as your own."

Nobody said a single word. His parent never saw anything wrong with what they did to him. Even now they felt justified in their actions, but they couldn't help but feel a tinge of guilt as Victor's words sank in. The woman looked at her son and his now short hair and felt regret.

"I'm…we're sorry" his mother said. "Sorry for the physical pain we've caused you."  
"Look, things got off to an awful start, let's just try this again" the man said looking at his wife.

Victor didn't look up at either of them and there was another moment of silence before anyone spoke again.

"So, his name's Yuri? Right?" his mother asked.  
"Yeah…" he replied trying to hide a smile he felt tugging on his face as he felt a flush of positive emotion at his fiancé's name.

"Does he at least make you happy?"

"More than anyone in this world."

His parents began asking him questions about Yuri, as they tried to lighten the mood and distract from their rising guilt.

"What if you brought him over one day for us to meet?" his mother suggested. Victor was taken aback by the question.

"We think maybe meeting him might help us understand… you… better" his father added.

"…I'll think about it…" Victor said.

Feeling emotionally drained, Victor began to wrap things up at his parent's place. He said his goodbyes and began his trip to his home in St. Petersburg.

Meanwhile, Yuri had gone out to run a few errands after his jog. He returned to find Victor still wasn't home. He began to wonder where on earth he could have gone. Victor hadn't said anything to him earlier in the week, nor was there a note or anything left behind. And normally, if Victor was out on a run, he would have been back by now. Yuri kneeled down in front of Makkachin, who was now sitting in front of him, and patted his head.

"Where's your dad?" He asked the fluffy poodle.

Makkachin placed a paw on Yuri and barked.

"Not me you silly. Victor."

Makkachin laid down in front of Yuri and whined.

"Guess you haven't seen him all day either" He sighed.

Yuri got up and went to the kitchen to heat some water in a kettle for tea. He began to wonder where Victor could have gone or what he was doing today. _Would Victor really have…?_ His thoughts traced over one idea but he quickly rejected it. Yuri started pouring a cup of tea, and as he did, he noticed Makkachin excitedly get up from the couch and bound towards the door. The grey dog waited patiently as he heard keys turning the lock and the front door open. Victor entered and the excited dog jumped up to him, standing on his hind legs. Victor kneeled down and embraced his old companion.

"Hey, Victor! Where have been all day?" Yuri asked ready to hear about his day.

Victor didn't reply. Instead, he took his shoes off at the door and trudged towards the kitchen.  
"I just made some tea. Want a cup?"

"Yeah. Sure." He said in a somber voice as he leaned on the counter next to one of the barstools.

Yuri became concerned by his tone of voice, and when he finally saw Victor's face, became even more concerned.

"Hey, are you alright? Geeze, where'd you go?" Yuri asked slightly panicked.

Yuri handed Victor his cup of tea, and he took it to the couch. Yuri followed and sat beside him. Victor took a sip of tea, then drew a deep breath in.

"I went to go see my parents" Victor said, staring into his cup, confirming Yuri's thoughts.

"Wha—? How did… Well, I imagine that went about as well as expected…"  
"Ha, yeah. God, why did I expect any different… I'm not even sure what I expected."

"Well, things literally couldn't have gotten worse between you and your parents… could they?" Yuri added wondering if things did in fact get worse.

"No, you're right. They've already done their worst" he said setting his cup down.

Victor became quiet as he began to analyze what happened today and endless thoughts raced through his mind.

"Is… something else on your mind?" Yuri asked curiously.  
"You know, after all they've done to me and how they've treated me… I still somehow feel…guilty. Like maybe some of the things I said were too harsh."  
"But you've done nothing wrong. Plus, I don't think anything you say can compare to what they did." Yuri said also setting his cup down.  
"I know… I just—" Victor looked up at Yuri with pain and sorrow in his eyes.

The memory of it all still remained fresh in the forefront of his mind after being repressed for so long. Tears rolled down his cheeks and he began to sob. All of the emotions that had built up over the day were finally being released. Yuri wrapped his arms around Victor and held onto him tightly. Yuri didn't say anything at first. He only raked his fingers through Victor's silver hair, comforting him, as he wept into his chest. Victor felt secure wrapped in Yuri's arms and gradually relaxed. Once he had calmed down a bit, Yuri thought of something to say to help him feel better.

"I know that I can't even begin to even feel a shred of what you've been through, but just remember that you've moved on to a better life without them, and that you have a great future ahead of you, and I'll always be here for you. Promise."

Those last words resonated with Victor and he began to feel warmth in his heart.  
"Thank you" Victor said lifting up his head, thanking him, not just for this moment, but for everything.

Yuri smiled and cupped Victor's cheek, wiping away some of the tears with his thumb. Makkachin, who had been laying across Victor's lap this whole time, sat up and licked the tears off the other side of his face. Victor began to smile as was being comforted by his two favorite guys. Victor decided to go take a shower to decompress and get his mind off of things, while Yuri got up to get started on dinner. After the shower, Victor went to the bedroom with Makkachin to relax alone for a while. He ended up falling asleep, but was awakened from his nap by the scent of food filling the apartment. He got up and went to check on things.

"Smells great" Victor said as he entered the kitchen. "Need any help?"  
"Well, the food is almost ready, but you could start setting the table" Yuri responded.

Victor went over to the cabinets and grabbed plates and drinking glasses from them. Yuri brought over the finished dish to the table and took a seat. Victor filled the glasses with water from a pitcher he had gotten out of the fridge, then sat down across from Yuri. The both of them served up a plate and enjoyed dinner together.

"So, we already know my day was a shit show. How was your day?" Victor asked.  
"Good, I suppose. Nothing too exciting. Usual morning run with Makkachin. Came back and noticed you weren't here, took a shower then went back out to take care of some errands for a few hours" Yuri stated, listing off his day.  
"Hey, sorry if I made you worry at all today. I thought about telling you something, but I figured that would make you worry more."  
"Victor, it's fine. I'm just glad you're okay… for the most part."

"Yeah…"

"They didn't…?" Yuri didn't finish the sentence not sure what words would be appropriate.  
"No, I'm fine. It's just the memories, and the fact that they still feel justified in their actions. But I guess they at least apologized for some of what they did."  
"At least there's one good thing."  
"I suppose. Things actually turned out somewhat okay towards the end believe it or not"  
"Really? Like how?"

"I don't know. I guess what I said might have got through to them? They also seemed to be pretty curious about you."  
"Huh?"

Victor took a moment before he decided on whether or not to tell him about potentially meeting his parents now or later. He figured he might as well at least say it since it was still relevant.

"Yeah, they actually want to meet you."  
"Wait. What?" Yuri said shocked. "That's really unexpected."  
"Don't worry, I was just as shocked when they mentioned it too. But they figure maybe meeting you and seeing us together will help them see things differently."

Yuri didn't say anything, still shocked and unsure of what to even say.

"I understand if you don't want to, and quite frankly I don't really want to bring you around that kind of negativity." Victor said interpreting his non-response.

"No, it's not that… it's just—well what do you want?" Yuri asked.  
"I just don't want you to feel uncomfortable."  
"Well it's not really about me at this point."

Victor thought for a moment. Part of him wanted things to get better for him and his parents, but he didn't want it to be at the expense of Yuri. Yuri saw the look in Victor's eyes and knew what he was thinking.

"If it'll help things between you and your parents, and this is something you want…" Yuri started to say.

"You don't have to if you don't want to."  
"But I want to help if I can."  
"Yuri… would you really?"  
"I'll do it."


	4. Chapter 4: First Impressions

**Chapter 4: First Impressions**

Almost two weeks went by since Victor's initial encounter with his parents and since Yuri had agreed to meet them. Victor was nervous as all hell about introducing his parents to the love of his life. He wasn't sure how they would treat him or what they would say to him. Yuri was a pretty likable person, but because of the kind of people Victor's parents were, any positive qualities wouldn't matter to them. Victor hoped that somehow, they would like Yuri upon meeting him today. He paced back and forth in the bedroom thinking and preparing himself for whatever could happen today. He stopped, took a deep breath, and slowly let it out as he went to the living room to join Yuri.

"Ready?" Yuri asked as soon as he saw Victor.  
"Yup. Let's get going" he said to Yuri grabbing his keys.  
"Makkachin, we'll be gone for a bit so be a good pup until we get back" Victor said kneeling down to hug and pet his beloved poodle.

Makkachin licked Victor's face then went over to the couch to nap. Yuri and Victor went out the front door and began the drive to the place Victor used to call home at one point in his life. They spent the car ride chatting about various thing whether it be about the wedding or thoughts they had in general. Things got pretty quiet after they got off the expressway and were in a quaint, little town. Yuri mostly looked out the window taking in the scenery. He had never really been to other parts of Russia. He mostly stayed in the area's near and around St. Petersburg. Victor's mind drew back to the whole reason they were out in the first place. He tried not to think more about it than he already has been. Instead he kept focused on driving without saying anything. Yuri had noticed the silence as he became curious about the neighborhood that they were in.

"Is this where you grew up?" Yuri asked looking at all of the different shops and businesses around.  
"Yeah. It's a nice little town" Victor said recalling more positive memories of his past.

Victor began to point out different places and areas where he used to spend his time when he was younger. He talked about what was the same and what all had changed since he left this town as a teen. Yuri listen intently as Victor spoke and shared memories of his own life with him. Victor had this passionate look in his eyes that Yuri admired. Victor said less as they approached a more residential area filled with larger houses. The car began to slow as they reached their destination and soon stopped. The moment of truth was approaching. Would his parents finally be willing to accept Victor and his relationship, or would they remain the same and unmoved? Victor wasn't sure of what the outcome would be. He didn't think too much about it though. Victor turned off the engine and they both took off their seatbelts and sat in the car for a moment before getting out.

"Yuri, I just want to thank you again, for doing this. You really didn't have to."  
"I know, but I just want to show I care."  
"Also, I apologize in advance for anything my parents might say to you or in general."

"That's okay. I kind of figured what I might be signing up for."  
"Alright, here goes nothing."

They exited the car, and walked up to the front door.

"I can't believe this is actually happening…" Victor whispered to himself.  
"It'll be fine." Yuri said as he grabbed Victor's right hand and kissed the golden ring on it.

Normally if one of them was feeling nervous or anxious, the other would take their hand and kiss the ring they gave each other for reassurance and luck. Despite Yuri's words, Victor wasn't entirely confident of things being fine himself. He began to feel nervous thinking of all the possible things that could happen tonight, yet also calmed by Yuri's presence. Victor knocked on the door and the couple waited outside for an answer. Not long went by before Victor's mother greeted the two of them at the door.

"Victor, good to see you again" his mother said as she opened the door. Victor simply smiled. His mother turned to Yuri and looked him up and down.  
"You must be Yuri. Nice to meet you" she said as she welcomed both of them inside.

"Nice to meet you too" Yuri said nervously.

She led both of them down the hall to the dining room and told them to have a seat. She then went to the other room to inform her husband that Victor and Yuri had arrived and that dinner would be ready soon. She then went back to the kitchen to finish preparing the meal. Meanwhile, Victor and Yuri sat down at the table and waited.

"So far so good" Victor said settling down.

"Yeah. Your mom seems, okay. Not too sure how she feels about me though…" Yuri stated.  
"She probably just thinks you're cute. I sure do think you are" Victor said caressing and holding his chin.

"Well, of course you think so. When aren't you calling me cute."

"Probably when I'm sleeping."

"Uh, not even then…" Yuri said revealing to Victor that even in his sleep, sometimes Victor will roll over to cuddle while muttering things about how much he loves Yuri or thinks he's cute.

The both of them looked into each other's eyes laughing and smiling as they pressed their foreheads together. Victor wanted to kiss Yuri right now, but he rather not put himself or Yuri in a situation for if either of his parents were to walk in. Who knows how they would react. They barely liked the mere idea of him being with a man, but to actually see him intimate with Yuri would probably be too much for them and might even make the situation dangerous. He knew what his parents were capable of, and anything was possible with them. As they were laughing, Victor's father entered the room and cleared his throat. The laughing stopped and the smiles quickly faded.

"Ahem. Victor."  
"Father."  
"Yuri, I assume."  
"Uh, y-yes sir. It's nice to meet you."

His father didn't reply. He hardly looked at Yuri. The man simply sat down directly across from Victor at the table. He didn't say anything to either of them. He only glared directly at Victor, who was staring past him, and glanced at Yuri every so often, who kept his head down looking at the plate sitting on the table in front of him. Something about Victor's father instilled slight unease into Yuri. His entire demeanor was intimidating between the short responses and dagger like stares. Yuri was intent on not saying anything in fear of upsetting the man. Victor sensed the fear Yuri felt and placed a hand on top of his for reassurance. As soon as Victor did that, the man's eyes narrowed even more at both of them. Victor remained unfazed by his father's disposition, and Yuri focused only on the hand resting on top of his.

The silence among them seemed to go on forever, with awkward stares and glances going back and forth. Thankfully, they didn't have to wait in silence for too much longer. Victor's mother entered the dining room with dinner ready. She placed the dish down on the table and began serving her husband first, then Victor and Yuri, and herself last.

"I assume introductions already took place" the woman said finally taking a seat next to her husband.

"Yes. I walked in on these two giggling like school girls" the man said dryly, and somewhat disgusted.  
"I take it you found something funny?" the women inquired to Victor and Yuri.  
"Ah, it was nothing" Victor said, not really wanting to give them the reason why or come up with an excuse. 

Everyone started eating without saying much of anything aside from small talk here and there, the typical how was your day and how have you been conversation. Things were fine until Victor's father started to speak up more.

"So, you're also one of those…. 'weirdos' who likes other men huh?" Victor's father asked Yuri. "Who would have thought I'd let another fa—freak into this house."

Victor shot his father a sharp glare as soon as he heard the first syllable come out, a look that dared him to say what he was going to say before the man quickly changed his word choice. The man continued rambling on about nonsensical things about "the type of people" Yuri and Victor were. Yuri's eyebrows pressed together as he tried to maintain a friendly smile. He didn't say anything. He wasn't even sure if he should say anything at all. _"How does someone even respond to that?"_ he thought to himself. Yuri still didn't reply, as he was mostly shocked and at a loss for words and not really given an opportunity to talk. Victor on the other hand wasn't having it.

"Look, you can say what you want about me, but I refuse to allow your verbal abuse towards my fiancé." Victor said balling his hand into a fist.

"There are worse words I could have said instead."

"Or you could have said nothing at all." Victor said still clenching his fist.

Victor and his father glared at each other as tensions began to rise. Victor's mother stepped in before things got out of hand. She tugged on the man's sleeve and told him that Yuri was still a guest and should be treated as such. She then proceeded to change the subject asking Yuri more appropriate questions about himself. 

"Yuri, you're from Japan, how do you like living in Russia?" she asked genuinely.

"Well, it's a lot colder, but so far I've liked it here."

The Russian man and woman proceeded to ask Victor and Yuri more about their relationship, questions like how and where they met and how long they've been together. They also asked Yuri more about his life back in Japan.

"How do your parents feel about this?" Victor's mother asked. Yuri shot her a confused look not sure what she meant at first. "The whole getting married to… a ma—umm, to Victor" she clarified.

"Oh. Well they couldn't be happier for me and him. I think to say they're overjoyed would be an understatement" Yuri said laughing timidly, with Victor laughing along in agreeance. "They're really excited and proud of everything I've done so far."

Victor looked over at Yuri admirably as he talked about his parents and how he's happy to make them proud. Victor glanced over at his parents and his expression changed. The contrast between his own parents and Yuri's was clear cut. Two people who loved their son unconditionally versus two individuals who rejected their son in an instant. His parents noticed the look Victor was giving them and avoided his gaze as they realized the difference between themselves and what Yuri was describing.

Yuri continued talking about Japan and his own family, with Victor adding in his own experiences from Japan. For the most part, things were going well with Victor's parents. Dinner was wrapped up and everyone moved to the living room to continue to conversing. Victor and Yuri sat down on the sofa next to each other, while Victor's parents sat down on the love seat across from them. His parents wasted no time diving into the questions they've been curious about all night.

"So, which one of you is the man, and which one of you is the woman?" His father asked.

"Umm… we're both the man…?" Yuri said confused.  
"But who does the cooking and cleaning, while the other is out working?" His mother included.  
"We both do all of those things… with and for each other." Victor firmly stated.

His parents seemed perplexed as they tried to wrap their heads around the couple's pairing.

"It's simple, we go to practice together, we come home and cook dinner together, clean the dishes together, watch tv _together_ " Victor explained in basic terms.

"Well what do you plan to do about children…?" the woman asked.

Victor and Yuri both looked at each other and blushed. Neither of them have ever really given the idea of children serious thought. It may have come up in conversations as a passing thought and as a possibility for them, but they haven't actually sat down and talked about it.

"We have… options for if or when the time comes" Victor said. 

"You're both men, how do you two even…well you know? Do the act?" The man asked.  
"Before I go into detail about my sex life, let me ask you this: would you be asking me this if I was with a woman?" Victor countered to his father in a serious tone.  
"No, but—"

"Good!" Victor interrupted, "Well it usually starts with kissing, some touching and grabbing, then I'll usually put my hand down—"

"Stop! I don't care." His father said slightly mortified and regretting even asking anything.

Victor placed his hand in front of his mouth to hide his smile and to muffle some of the snickering coming from him. Yuri had a smirk on his face but was also blushing, not sure what Victor was going to say just now and if he was even going to go that far into detail about their sexual escapades. Victor's father seemed thoroughly annoyed while his mother's face was bright red from feeling embarrassment as her son was prepared to talk pretty openly about his sex life and give out such personal details. Victor mostly did this to shut his father up and get his parents to see how ridiculous they were being with their questions. The woman let out a huff of air to alleviate the embarrassment and to try and move on from what just happened.

"It's great you want to share things with us, but there are some things we don't want or _need_ to know. Not only that, but you're having sex before your even married." the blue eyed woman said stopping herself before she went into a tirade like her husband did earlier in the night.

"Well, you did ask" Victor shrugged with a smirk ignoring her comment about premarital sex.

The man and the woman both rolled their eyes and as they took a moment to think before they spoke again. Their questions became a little less personal and invasive and instead went on to ask both Victor and Yuri about the wedding. Their questions were still wrapped in dated gender roles like asking if one of them was going to wear a dress. Victor jokingly said he would, but he and Yuri had already decided on tuxedos which they would soon be fitted for. Yuri and Victor happily talked about what they had planned so far for their wedding, while the Russian man and woman listened curiously.

Victor was surprised by how little in opposition his parent had to say. How calm and okay they appeared to be with everything. They seemed nothing like the abusive parents he was forced to leave in his earlier years. He wouldn't say they were completely open minded at this point, but they were definitely less judgmental, at least outwardly. He was sure they had a slew of remarks in their heads that they were trying to keep to themselves. With Yuri being a guest to their home, he figured they were playing up the role being a good host to uphold their image. Regardless of if they were actually starting to come around or just putting up a front, Victor still felt like something was different about them. It almost freaked him out a little, but he didn't dwell on it too much.

As the evening grew later and conversations died down, Victor and Yuri decided to head back home before it became too late. Victor told his parents goodnight and his mother led him and Yuri back to the front door. She told Yuri again that it was nice meeting him and waved goodbye to both of them as they headed back to the car.

"That went a lot better than expected. Maybe they really are trying" Victor said hopeful.

"Yeah… that went pretty well. I was afraid of saying the wrong thing, or making a bad impression" Yuri said.

"You were fine. I don't know if I can thank you enough for this" Victor said before getting into the car.

"Victor, it's nothing really. I'd do this for you again if I had to."

Victor smiled as he and Yuri got in the car and headed back home. The car ride back was mostly quiet. Yuri was feeling tired, and Victor was doing a lot of thinking. Would he begin to start seeing more of his parents now? Would they gradually start to make their way back into his life? _"Could this really be happening? What are my parents trying to gain from this? Are they actually being genuine for once?"_ Victor thought to himself. Despite everything his parents have done, part of Victor had always wished for a chance to have them back in his life, and the possibility for that felt so real right now. The thought was overwhelming creating slight anxiety. Victor stopped questioning and drowned out his thoughts with the music coming from the car radio.

Once back at home, Yuri went straight to the bedroom to get ready for bed. Victor went over to the coffee table where a pen and notepad were sitting with a list of names labelled "Wedding Guest". He pondered for a moment before sitting down with the pen and paper and adding two more names with contact info to the list. He took a deep breath in and let it out as a sigh. _"Never thought I'd actually be doing this…"_ he thought while sitting on the sofa. He felt nothing and something at the same time. He expected to be content with this but instead he had a feeling he couldn't quite say what it was. He ignored the feeling and got up to join Yuri in bed to turn in for the night.

…  
Over the next couple of days, Yuri noticed that Victor seemed a little off. On the outside things seemed fine, but Victor's usual happiness and cheeriness seemed less than usual. Yuri suspected that maybe it had something to do with his parents now vaguely being in his life again. Not only that, the stress of skating, coaching, and planning a wedding were probably also getting to him. Victor was sitting on the couch with Makkachin lying across him as he flipped through channels on the television. Yuri sat in a chair nearby and was reading a book. Things were fairly calm and quiet, but Yuri could sense that Victor was still feeling down. He wanted to do something for him to brighten his mood.

"We're going out. My treat" Yuri said getting up and taking the remote from Victor's hand.

"Oh?" Victor said amused as his eyes brightened up. "Where to?"

"I was thinking about having a nice late afternoon lunch at your favorite café" Yuri suggested.

This put a smile on Victor's face. He was surprised by the spontaneity and felt excited to be going out with Yuri. Victor was noticing his own shift in mood and felt he needed to shake the bad vibes. He got up from the couch, telling Makkachin to come along with. The engaged couple and their dog headed out and started walking towards an outdoor café not too far from where they live. The two of them held hands as they walked together enjoying the warm sunlight of late summer, early autumn day. They arrived at the café and sat at a table with Makkachin sitting under the table by their feet. A server came by to take their order and the two sat and chatted as they waited for their orders to come out.

"Hey, Yuri."  
"Yeah?"  
"What do you think about writing our own vows?"

"Actually, I've been thinking about that a lot."  
"Really? It's been on my mind on and off too."

"I like the idea of it. It would feel more personal" Yuri said starting to think of what he might say with his vows.

"I want to tell you all the ways I love you and list off all of the things that I love about you" Victor said flashing a bright smile at his fiancé.  
"Victor, the ceremony can only be so long" Yuri said jokingly implying that Victor would have a lot to say.

They laughed as they teased each other and continued on with their conversation. Their food eventually came out and they enjoyed the rest of their lunch date together. After they ate, Yuri suggested that they go to the park for a chance to spend more time together and to let Makkachin get out and have some fun. They arrived at the park and let Makkachin run around for a bit. They watched from a shaded bench as he chased squirrels and birds and other park wildlife. Victor and Yuri occasionally went through their phones looking at different wedding trinkets and decorations showing them to each other to get the other's opinion. After running around for some time Makkachin came trotting back to Victor and Yuri to rest. 

"I bet Makkachin would love to play around at the wedding venue" Yuri said petting the tired dog.  
Victor gasped as he thought of an idea for their wedding.  
"We should have Makkachin in the wedding!" Victor suggested.  
Yuri pondered the idea for the moment.

"You think so?" Yuri asked.

"Yeah just think about it! Wouldn't it be the cutest thing ever? He could even wear a doggy suit or a bowtie collar!" Victor said searching for a dog costume on his phone.

"That would be a cute addition." 

Victor showed Yuri his phone which had a photo of a tuxedo dog costume that came with a top hat and a bowtie. Yuri looked down at Makkachin, then back at the phone and snickered.

"You're not seriously going to buy that, are you?" Yuri asked.

"It should be here in about two days" Victor replied in a matter-of-fact tone having just ordered it.

Yuri shook his head grinning at the man whom he would be married to in just a few months. Victor played with his dog for a little while until the silver-beige poodle got distracted by small park animals and went off on another chase. Yuri and Victor went back to looking at wedding stuff, and for a moment, Makkachin went out of their sight. Victor wasn't too worried knowing that his dog wouldn't have gone that far away from them and that he would eventually return or come if called. Sure enough, the old dog returned bounding towards his owners with a ball in his mouth. 

"This isn't yours" Victor said confused taking the toy from his dog's mouth.

Behind Makkachin were two children running after him yelling to "come back" and to "give it back". The two children caught up and approached Victor and Yuri. One of them was a small girl who looked about six years old. The other was a boy who looked no older than ten. 

"Your dog stole our ball!" the boy exclaimed.

"I'm sorry that he did that." Victor said returning the ball. "Makkachin, apologize."

The dog sat down in front of the girl and licked her face as she started giggling.

"Aww it's okay puppy!" the little girl said petting the poodle.

"Hey, you kind of look like Victor Nikiforov…" The boy said looking at Makkachin as he recognized the name, then up at Victor.

"Do I?" Victor said giving his famous smile and wink.

The boy's eyes lit up with excitement, as he realized who he was standing before. The girl looked at both Victor and Yuri and was equally excited.

"That must mean you're his husband Yuri Katsuki!" the girl squealed, skipping towards Yuri.

"Well, I'm not his just husband yet…" Yuri nervously corrected as the girl jumped up and down in front of him.

The two children sat between them on the bench and reached into their backpacks for pen and paper.

"Can we have an autograph!?" they both asked.

"Of course!" Victor said delighted.

Victor and Yuri took the notebooks handed to them and signed their signature. The kids were elated. They asked for a picture and Victor took the boy's phone to take a group selfie. Then the kids took photos with each skater individually. Yuri smiled casually, while Victor went on to make silly faces with his young fans, thoroughly entertaining them. Yuri couldn't help but adore the way Victor interacted with the children, eagerly answering their questions and making them laugh. The children thanked Victor and Yuri with hugs and ran off, full of energy, ready to tell everyone who they had just met.

The couple decided it would be best to start heading home before word got around where they were and they were swarmed by fans. Victor called Makkachin back from wherever he had run to and they left the park. Yuri and Victor held hands again on the way back and walked in silence for a while, as Victor was in his own world enjoying the moment together with his fiancé, and Yuri was suddenly wondering about many things. 

"You know, I've been thinking…" Yuri began.

"About what?"

"What your mother said about us having kids, and then the way you interacted with those two kids at the park…"

"Are you seeing kids in our future?" Victor asked seeing what Yuri was getting at.

"Well, yeah…maybe? I just think you would make a nice father" Yuri said blushing.

"Aww, thank you for that!" Victor said happily as he began to blush thinking of himself as a father.

"I'm not so sure about myself though" Yuri said doubtfully.

"Yuri, I think you'd be a great father. You're kind, sweet, and caring…"

"You know, I never really thought of myself becoming a parent or saw kids in my future, and now what feels like the first time ever, I am thinking about it… it's all just new and different for me."

"That makes both of us then. I never really thought of parenthood as an option for myself either really, but now it's a choice that we could be making sometime down the line" Victor said taking hold of Yuri's hand. 

This was one of the first real conversations they've had together about children and neither of them spoke more about it for the rest of the walk home. They simply held hands mostly silent all the way back with Makkachin running ahead in front of them. Victor was thinking about parenthood a lot more now. He did want children, but when the time was right, and when he and Yuri were both ready. They arrive back home and spend the remainder of the day relaxing together. 

Later that night, Victor sat down at the table and prepared to attempt to start writing some of his vows. He stared blankly at the pen and paper before him as he felt he had so much to say, yet couldn't get anything down on the paper. No matter what his mind felt blank. He was excited to write, he wanted to write, and yet…


	5. Chapter 5: With This Ring

**Chapter 5: With This Ring…**

The early days of spring were here, but the cold winter air still lingered. After Yuri met Victor's parents, Victor hadn't really heard from them, and aside from sending them a wedding invitation, Victor didn't really reach out to them either. Some days he would wonder if he would get an RSVP from them, but he tried not to get his hoped up like that. Quite frankly, he wasn't entirely sure what it would be like if his parents were at the wedding and how that would work out. Victor's parents were the least of his problems now, though. He would rather not stress about them when there was so much more that still needed to be done.

The wedding day was even closer now, only a few months away, and final decisions were being made. Yuri and Victor had been making more frequent trips to Japan for a lot of their wedding planning, like for cake tasting and ordering the actual cake, and choosing a caterer for the event. However, at the moment, they were spending most of their time in Russia now until the day got closer. Today they were out at a shopping mall looking for the suits they would wear for the big day. After making last minute decisions the night before on what colors they would go with, they finally made their choices for what they would be looking for today.

They entered the shopping center and headed to the men's formal wear store where they had an appointment. Victor went to the counter to let the woman at the store front know that they had arrived for their fittings, while Yuri looked around at the different styles of suits and tuxedos that were on display. Not long after checking in, the woman led them to the back, where they were greeted by the tailors who would be helping them today. An older woman and gentleman, began asking them questions on what they were looking for and other questions to get to know their clients before taking out measuring tapes to begin carefully taking down precise measurement for each male.

"We decided to go with a gold theme for the wedding, but we also want something that would accent the cherry blossoms nicely" Victor told the tailors.

"A classic black tux goes with just about everything" the older woman suggested as she took various arm measurements from Victor.

"There's also the options to add color with different pieces to the suit and accessories" the gentleman working on Yuri also suggested.

"We were thinking maybe some shade of blue, but couldn't exactly pick one…" Yuri said.

"Or even a nice purple-ish color" Victor chimed in.

"You've at least chosen suit color and style, right?" the female tailor asked finishing up with her measurements.

"That much we did decide on" Victor replied.

The tailor finished up then took Victor to the dressing room, and brought an array of different color suits in the styles he was considering with some basic tie and bowtie options to try on. The other tailor finished up on Yuri and began the same process with him also. First, they had a little fun and tried on different suits of color various colors and patterns. Victor first came out with a deep purple suit and a lime green tie, while Yuri was wearing a red plaid suit with a matching tie. They both looked at each other in these outrageous outfits and had a good laugh. Then they tried on a few other suits for fun along with others they were actually considering before finding the ones they would ultimately choose.

Yuri finally stepped out in an ivory color tuxedo with a light blue waistcoat and matching tie. Victor was already out of the dressing room wearing a more classic black tuxedo with a black bowtie deciding whether or not he liked this look for the wedding. He looked over at Yuri when he came out and immediately liked what he saw.

"What do you think?" Yuri inquired as he walked towards the pedestal in front of the mirror wearing his final pick.

Victor was nearly speechless and completely wowed as he gazed upon his fiancé. He simply walked over to Yuri to remove his glasses and slick his hair back to mimic how he would look on the wedding day.

"Perfect," Victor said stepping back to get a good look, "Reminds me of the first time you stepped out in your Eros costume."

"That feels like so long ago…" Yuri said.

"You look as delectable now as you did then" Victor whispered in his ear.

Yuri blushed in response to Victor's words as the tailor came by and added a faux, light blue flower to the lapel of the suit jacket and gold pocket square to the suit. Yuri took back his glasses from Victor so he could get a better look in the three angle mirror. He was quite shocked himself with how nice he looked. 

"Wow, I do look pretty good" Yuri said checking himself out in the mirror.

"So, is this the one you're going with then?" Yuri's tailor asked.

"Yes, definitely" He responded confidently.

Victor was still staring at Yuri, admiring how he looked in the moment while imagining him on their wedding day. Yuri glanced over to noticed Victor staring at him and could see it in his eyes that this was a good choice.

"So, what did you choose?" Yuri asked his fiancé.

"I'm thinking of the previous tux I just had on. Maybe a different color vest though" Victor pondered.

"We should get you changed into that one so you two can see each other in your outfits!" Victor's tailor said excitedly.

Victor agreed with equal excitement and rushed back to the dressing room to get changed once more in the black modern tuxedo he had just been wearing prior to the one he already had on. He then walked out again in his outfit of choice and stood next Yuri who was getting final measurements taken down on a clipboard. Victor's tailor came by and handed him a peach color tie, to match the waistcoat and a gold pocket square just like Yuri's. After those finishing touches were added, the two tailors stepped back to let the couple enjoy this moment as Victor and Yuri gazed at their reflections in the mirror. Victor turned to Yuri and looked into his eyes as they held hands almost as if they were at the altar, while Yuri stared back looking him up and down loving each bit.

"I think you should go with this one" Yuri told Victor.

"I think so too" He agreed.

"Is that your final decision?" The older woman asked.

"Yes! This is the one for me" He replied.

The tailors celebrated excitedly at the success of helping their clients finding what they wanted. Victor turned to get one last good look in the mirror at himself next to Yuri, before he wouldn't be able to see this image again until the wedding day. They headed back to their dressing rooms to change back into regular clothes to finish the rest of their appointment. They left the store, hand in hand, satisfied and excited for what was to come next for them. It was all beginning to feel so real and so close. Victor and Yuri stopped at a coffee shop to take a break from shopping and to check in with their wedding party to make sure everyone else had their suits ordered and taken care of.

As they were resting in the coffee shop, Victor noticed a jewelry store across the way from where they were sitting. He took a look at the ring on his right hand and started thinking. He knew what the rings were for back then when they first exchanged them, despite the fact that he was the one who jokingly called them engagement rings the first time. Even though he was joking about the rings, he truly meant what he said back then about marrying Yuri once he won a gold medal. The fact that this was all happening felt incredible to Victor, but he felt like something was maybe missing.

"I feel like we should get wedding bands" Victor mentioned nonchalantly.

"Huh? But we have…" Yuri began to say as he looked down at the gold ring that adorned his right hand. He then remembered that despite what many people thought, that the rings they wore were not engagement rings, and most definitely weren't wedding rings.

"Do you not want rings?" Victor asked.

"Not it's not that, I've just been so used to wearing this ring all the time that I never really thought about a new one. New rings sound nice."

"Good! Well I think it's my turn to buy us rings now. I feel like we should look for something to complement these ones" Victor suggested, referring to the gold bands they were already wearing.

Yuri still remembered the day he got those rings for himself and Victor, and the feelings he had while buying them. He remembered thinking that maybe if they both held onto something gold that it might help him win gold that year. Despite that not happening, the rings ended up meaning much more. When he bought them in Barcelona, he wanted something that would solidify a connection between them in their newfound relationship at the time as coach and student, and as a new love. His initial thoughts weren't about what people would think about them, but everyone around them soon began to see the gold rings as some sort of promise or engagement rings, and he and Victor began to see them that way too on top of the original meaning. He wanted the rings to double as a symbol of luck and the bond between them at the time, but now that they were getting married, he felt they needed something more as a symbol of their love, and Victor felt this too.

They finished their coffee drinks, then Victor took Yuri by the hand and lead him towards the jewelry store that had caught his attention. They looked around the store at the variety of jewelry on display. They stopped to look at a section of rings with many different gemstone options available. As they were browsing, one of the salespeople who wasn't out on the store front already helping customers came from the back to assist them. 

"Hello! What can I help you with today?" the salesperson asked from behind the counter.

"We're looking for wedding bands!" Victor said excitedly.

"Oh wonderful! Was there anything in particular you two had in mind?"

Both Victor and Yuri paused to think, as this was an option chosen just five minutes ago, without much time to think about anything.

"Uh, we were thinking about something that would go nice with these" Yuri said holding out his hand to show the ring on it.

The sales person looked at the rings then stated that the shop had plenty of options that would complement them nicely. She brought them over to the section where they kept the classic wedding collection and showed them a few options to gauge each of their tastes and preferences. They both preferred something simple yet understated, and wanted to stick with a gold band, although this time Victor wanted diamonds for the both of them. Yuri immediately saw something that caught his eye and wanted to get a closer look. It was a basic gold band with a row of medium sized diamonds in the middle. All the other rings Yuri saw were too gaudy and flashy for his liking. This one was perfectly understated for his tastes. Victor didn't mind how it looked either. It had just the right amount of bling for both of them.

The ring was brought out for both men to inspect more closely as the salesperson talked up all the different qualities. Victor listened closely to the description while Yuri wasn't paying much attention to what she was saying as he already loved the ring. Yuri was finally given a chance to try on the band and fell in love with it even more. Victor also tried it on and loved how nicely it went with their gold bands. They looked at and tried a few other rings to make sure that there was nothing else they may have liked more, but ultimately, they ended up with the first pick. The jeweler took down their rings sizes so that the rings can be a perfect fit as Victor took care of the payments. After signing off on different receipts and warranties, they finally had wedding rings to pick up within the following week. Victor and Yuri walked out of the jewelry store happier than ever. Victor could hardly contain his excitement and gave Yuri a quick kiss before they headed home to end their day. 

Once back home, they spent the evening together before deciding to split and do separate activities. Yuri went back to the bedroom to go over wedding details on his laptop, while Victor stayed in the living room and looked over the vows he had started writing. He was eventually able to get something down on the paper, but felt like he needed to add something more. After a few months of not looking over his vows, he was finally taking a second glance to see what more he could add and maybe even try to finish them. He ended up starting over and rewriting things a couple of times, he even messaged Chris for some assistance. He worked on the vows on and off for quite some time until he heard Yuri coming down the hallway headed towards the kitchen for a quick drink.

"What's all this?" Yuri asked walking into the kitchen to find Victor still awake.

"These are my vows."

"Geeze, there's like, five pages here! Did you just start this?"

"You could say that…" Victor said not revealing the fact that most of it was scrap paper from his rewrites.  
Yuri peered over Victors shoulder as he reached for one of the sheets of paper on the counter.

"Hey! No peeking!" Victor said as he swatted Yuri's hand away.

Yuri persisted and still tried to get a glimpse over his shoulder. Victor turned around and took his glasses so that he wouldn't be able to see anything clearly.

"No fair! Give them back!" Yuri said laughing as he tried to grab for his glasses which Victor was holding above his head just out of reach.

"Only if you promise no peeking."

"Fine, I won't try to peek anymore."

Victor complied and returned the lenses to his future husband who kissed him on the cheek as Yuri placed his glasses back on his face.

"Man, I've barely got a page for now, how'd you come up with this much?" Yuri questioned.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll condense it down eventually. What have you been up to?"

"Mom called and was asking about different things. Then I went over guest registries and seating arrangements. The boring stuff."

Victor let out a quiet sigh and his expression changed as he remembered that he hadn't heard from his own parents. Part of him hoped that he would have, but another part was glad he hadn't, though he tried his best not to dwell on it. Yuri noticed and wondered what might have caused this sudden change before he realized what it could be.

"Have you still not heard from… them…?" Yuri asked.

"Yeah… let's not worry about that though…"

"It's been a long day, come to bed. We can go over honeymoon plans."

Victor smiled then looked back at the papers on the counter and figured he would handle it later. He tidied everything up before he followed Yuri back to the room to go to bed. Each day, they were getting closer and closer to the big day and neither of them could hardly wait much longer.


	6. Chapter 6: Drunken Love

**Chapter: 6 Drunken Love**

The wedding was only three days away now and the finishing touches to ensure the big day went well were underway. Victor and Yuri were back in Japan again and had been quite busy these past couple of days. They arrived with Makkachin at the Katsuki home and stayed there for a night, but tonight, they would be having a little fun at the bachelor party Chris and Phichit planned for them. They weren't given much detail about the party aside from that it would be taking place at the bar lounge in the hotel they would be staying in for the wedding weekend until they left for their honeymoon. Neither of them were sure what their best men had instore for them, but they knew it had to be fun. By nightfall, Victor and Yuri were casually sipping on cocktails at the bar while everyone around them was already drinking and dancing.

Once most of the guest for the bachelor party had arrived, they started off the party by letting the grooms open gifts and cards that people had got for them. Of course, the gifts were mostly things they could use to spice things up in the bedroom and to make foreplay more interesting, while the cards had sweet or funny messages on them. Everyone went on chatting and laughing with each other while dancing around a bit and sharing a few drinks together.

"Say, if Yuri starts stripping and dirty dancing when he's drunk, and Victor starts getting completely naked and all touchy feely when he's drunk, what happens if we get the two of them drunk together…?" Chris pondered.

Phichit knew what he was getting at.

"How about we order a few rounds of shots and a couple of mixed drinks and see what happens?" Phichit suggested.

To really kick off the party, they ordered a round of shots to celebrate the soon to be married couple and each member of the wedding party threw them back. Chris and Phichit then ordered the grooms to be more drinks, as they began a drinking game with everyone. A few shots and drinks later, the effects of the alcohol were slowly starting to creep up on everyone. By the end of the game, everyone was tipsy or on their way to being drunk, with Victor and Yuri ahead of the game being completely drunk already. Everything was pretty relaxed initially, Victor clung to Yuri and they shared laughs together along with everyone else, but Victor was hoping for a little more excitement. 

"So, this is a bachelor party, what kind of entertainment should we be expecting besides drinks, and a little bit of dancing?" Victor asked.  
"Glad you asked" Chris said caressing Victor's chin.

He looked at Phichit to cue his track. Saucy music began to play through the speakers and Chris gave both Yuri and Victor a seductive look. Chris pushed Yuri into a chair and pulled out a pair of handcuffs from his back pocket. He took Yuri's hands behind the chair and cuffed them tight enough to where he couldn't move his wrists. Yuri didn't resist much as he felt the alcohol starting to go to his head. Victor watched the whole ordeal go down very intrigued and somewhat excited. Victor whistled and laughed to himself not sure what to expect next. Chris got up and approached Victor while he looked in his eyes. 

"Don't think I forgot about you" Chris said licking his lips and removing his tie.

He put a hand on Victor's shoulder and sat him down in a chair too. He took the tie he was just wearing and constrained Victor's hands behind the chair tightly. The other party guest watched curiously with their phone cameras ready for the show that was about to go down. Chris went back to Yuri and began giving him a lap dance as he started grinding on Yuri while removing his shirt. Victor got to watch the whole thing from behind.

"Woah, I don't know how Victor would feel about this…" Yuri said slightly nervous yet still amused.  
"He's real sensitive on his neck!" Victor shouted from behind cheering the whole thing on.  
"Is that so…" Chris whispered into Yuri's neck with his lips just barely lightly touching his skin.  
"God damn it, Victor!" Yuri shouted back.

Victor laughed it all off, thoroughly entertained as he felt the alcohol continuing its effect. Chris crawled over to Victor now and proceeded to give him equal treatment. He took his pants off and was now just in his underwear which was a black and red silk thong. Victor whistled and he could hear Yuri cheering from behind. Chris continued the lap dance on Victor while the drunk groom sat back and enjoyed the show.

"Hey! He likes having his hair pulled!" Yuri called from his seat looking to get some pay back. 

Chris looked back and Yuri and winked. He proceeded to do just as he had said, by walking behind Victor and grabbing a handful of hair as he pulled his head back by his silver locks.

"You're trying to get me in trouble, aren't you?" Victor said looking up at Chris.  
"Not at all" he said caressing his cheek, as he danced away towards the pole that was in the room.

As Chris sauntered towards the pole that was on the small stage in the front of the room, the music changed once more. He grabbed onto the pole and walked around it a few times before swinging himself around which brought about cheering. He then climbed up the pole and began to do all kinds of flips and tricks, extending his legs and holding certain poses to show off his body. The party guest started cheering and throwing money up on the stage in a drunken haze. Chris did more tricks and moves as he got more cheers and attention. Victor and Yuri were still tied up as they watched the performance but that didn't stop them from yelling their loudest. Christ fed off of everyone's energy and slid down the pole and dropped into a split. Everyone went wild at his finishing move.

"I wish that were you up there" Victor said to Yuri.  
"I wish I could dance on top of you right now" Yuri responded.

Chris walked back over to the drunk couple and caught the tail end of their conversation.

"We're going to have some fun" Chris said with a sly smile going over to Victor to untie him.

Yuri was still in handcuffs, but was looking over at his fiancé with hungry eyes. Victor stood up and immediately stumbled forward and held onto Chris. Chris supported Victor to help him regain his balance, but Victor only clung onto him not letting go as he started touching him inappropriately. Victor was caressing and holding his face as if he were going to kiss Chris. Yuri started to get a little jealous watching this happen especially after what looked like Victor kissing Chris' neck. Chris however stopped Victor before he did anything else. He stood Victor up on his own, and the drunk man stumbled over to his fiancé into his lap. Victor removed his shirt and started grinding and dancing on top of Yuri while sloppily kissing him and undoing some of the buttons on Yuri's shirt.

"Hey Chris! Uncuff me!" Yuri called.  
"What's the magic word?" Chris teased.  
" _Please…_ " Yuri begged.  
"Make him beg!" Victor ordered Chris.  
"You want out?" Chris asked in a flirty voice.  
" _Yes…pretty please_ " Yuri continued to beg.

Chris finally complied and got the keys that were tucked away in his pants pocket on the ground. He went over to Yuri and unlocked the cuffs, releasing him to his own devices. As soon as Yuri's hands were free, it was like letting out a wild lion trapped in a cage. He immediately picked Victor up and carried him over to one of the stools at the bar and continued making out with Victor there. Yuri finished unbuttoning his shirt and cast it aside. Wedding party guest cheered on the engaged couple in their intimate public display, even encouraging them to go on.

"Is it me in here, or is it just hot?" Victor asked as he began to slide out of his pants.  
"I think… you're hot" Yuri said not necessarily responding to Victor and more so commenting on his looks.

The two got up and started dancing on top of each other, and everyone was having a good time for the most part until the music changed again and Yuri got an idea.

"Watch this" Yuri whispered into Victor's ear.

Victor held back to see what Yuri was about to do.

"I can do all those fancy tricks too!" Yuri said, with his speech slurred as he made his way to the pole.

Yuri removed his pants and did a few tricks and twists on the pole and everyone cheered for him, with Victor cheering the loudest. Victor couldn't help but find Yuri absolutely irresistible and met him up on the stage latching on his fiancé. Yuri tried to hang onto him as Victor tried to do the same, but both weren't stable enough standing on their own, let alone to support each other, and stumbled to the ground.

Victor was on the ground with Yuri on top of him starting another make out session. Phichit and Chris watched the two spiral out of control from afar enjoying the show, but also making sure neither of them got hurt or went too far. Victor had his hand down Yuri's underpants feeling and groping him before he removed his hand to slip out of his own underwear.

"Well… Victor's naked" Phichit said holding out his hand as Chris placed five dollars in it from a bet they made earlier to see who would completely strip down first.

"Think we should stop them?" Chris asked.

"Nah…?" Phichit started to say as he carefully inspected the two.

Yuri began kissing down Victor's jawline and neck and all down his chest and torso.

"It looks like Yuri is about to go down on Victor…" Chris observed.

"Okay yeah, we need to stop them."

Chris and Phichit quickly rushed in the pull the two away from each other, breaking up their erotic exhibition. Phichit hulled Yuri away, got him some water, and sat him down away from Victor to chill out for a moment as he babbled about how he "wasn't going to do anything". Chris got Victor up off the ground with him complaining that he wanted to be by Yuri and retrieved his pants so that he wasn't completely exposed. The other party goers were all energetically chatting amongst each other about what just went down. Chris and Phichit decided it was about time to send the grooms back up to their room for the night as the energy of the party was winding down. They made sure Victor and Yuri were decent enough to go about the hotel, and that they made it back to their room safely. The best men went back downstairs to clean up as the party as it came to an end. 

…

The next morning rolled around and the passed-out couple was awakened by a series of texts coming in on Yuri's phone, all of which he was ignoring. The texts soon became a phone call which neither of the recently drunken men could ignore anymore.

"Yuri, get your phone…" Victor said half awake with his voice trailing off.

Yuri groaned and tried to turn over to reach for his phone yet was somehow unable to do so. He tugged at his arm only to realize his wrist was attached to the headrest of the bed via handcuffs. If he wasn't already awake before, he certainly was now.

"What the— Victor!"  
"Why are you shouting…?"

"Why am I handcuffed to the bed!?" Yuri asked shocked and confused.

Victor finally opened his eyes to see what on earth Yuri was talking about and was just as confused as Yuri was. The phone had stopped ringing by now and both Victor and Yuri stopped for a moment to inspect the scene before them. Victor slowly sat up as he tried to make sense of his surroundings.

"How the…"

"I don't know— just find a key or something."

"Ugh, my head!" Victor groaned as he sat up all the way only to hold his head between his knees.

Yuri's phone started ringing again, and Victor laid back down on the bed to give himself a moment before he got up again and started doing anything even remotely productive. Yuri reached over with his free hand to grab his phone to see who was calling and to see who most of the texts were from. As expected it was Phichit requesting a video call, Yuri declined and answered as a voice call only.

"Aww, no video chat? Come on" Phichit said.

"Victor and I aren't…decent right now…"

"You say that like you were last night" Phichit teased in a sly voice.

"What even happened last night…?" Yuri asked trying to recall anything he could.

"I have an idea of what might have happened" Victor said as he peeled a used condom off his back.

"You guys were pretty wild!" Phichit told them.

"Oh, I can imagine…" Yuri said looking around at the disarray in the room.

There were clothes thrown everywhere, the sheets were a mess, and there was an open bottle of lube lying at the end of the bed. Between the handcuffs, the used condom on Victor, and the state of the hotel room, it was obvious that Victor and Yuri had quite the night together, though neither of them could remember much of it. Phichit went on to recap some parts that happened last night as Victor finally got up to look for a key to free his fiancé.

"Of course, you know I took pics of most it and I already sent some to you guys" Phichit mentioned.

Phichit continued retelling most of what he remembered, filling in the gaps of Yuri's memories from last night while Victor listened in as he searched for a key to unlock the handcuffs that left his fiancé connected to the bed. Yuri was surprised and somewhat embarrassed hearing what he and Victor did last night as pieces of his memory were being sparked. Victor however was amused by their antics. Though neither of them could clearly remember the majority of the night, there were pieces that vaguely stuck out. Eventually, Victor did find a small silver key buried between the sheets, and went over to release Yuri. Yuri decided to end the call with Phichit so that he could have a moment take everything in before starting the busy day ahead of him. They both hung up and Phichit finished sending pictures from last night.

Victor walked past the mirror and noticed scratch marks running down his shoulder blades. He glanced back at Yuri with a smirk as he also noticed the marks and faintly blushed red. Victor laughed to himself as he went to the mini fridge in the hotel room to grab two bottles of water while Yuri massaged his wrist and moved his hand around to bring back blood circulation in his hand. Victor opened one of the bottles and handed it to him, while he drank the other for himself. He sat next to Yuri on the bed as the final stream of photos came through. They looked through them together as they laughed at some and cringed at others, nonetheless enjoying reliving those moments together. Everything was fine until they came across photos of Chris and Victor together that showed Victor desperately holding on to Chris. Yuri's mood changed as he was going through the slideshow of last night sent by Phichit. Victor noticed the sudden change in attitude as he was looking at the photos also.

"Is something wrong?" Victor asked.

"No…It's nothing…" Yuri stated, swiping to the next photo which was Victor and Chris even more on top of each other. His eyebrows pressed together.

"I wasn't entirely drunk at this point" Yuri said remembering parts of the earlier half of the night.

"Yuri, somethings bothering you…"

"I'm fine."

Victor only said Yuri's name sternly while narrowing his eyes at his disgruntled fiancé.

"Fine, you're right. It's just… the way you and Chris were last night and how close you were to him" Yuri finally admitted.

"You're not jealous, are you?" Victor asked in a playful tone.

"Victor, I'm serious!" Yuri snapped back kind of annoyed that Victor wasn't being serious right now, which caused a little bit of tension between them.

"Well if you're not jealous, you're definitely unhappy about something." Victor replied not quite able to understand why Yuri was being this way.

"I don't know. Maybe I am, a little. Maybe I was already too drunk at this point, but it looked like you were kissing Chris' neck last night…"

"You know I would never do anything with anyone else other than you, right?"

Victor paused to think about what actually happened last night, as he honestly couldn't remember much from the party. Yuri was silent, and on the verge of being swallowed by doubt. He never felt the need to question Victor's fidelity, but something about last night was getting to him. He knew Victor loved him, so much so, that he couldn't even imagine Victor wanting to be with someone else, and yet it was something he still feared. Possibly losing Victor was something that always got to Yuri.

"Besides, you're the only one who has my heart… even if I may have had a little bit too much to drink. In the back of my mind, you were still mine." Victor said wrapping his arms around Yuri's shoulders and nudging his nose into his lover's cheek trying to alleviate some of the tension.

"Plus," Victor added, "I'm sure Chris knew not to cross certain lines, and wouldn't want to cause any trouble between us."

"Yeah, you're right" Yuri said at last, "I guess I'm just… being dumb, getting worked up about nothing."

"No, you're not. I'm glad you told me. If I ever do anything that bothers you, never be afraid to bring it up" Victor said validating Yuri's concerns.

Yuri sat there thinking. He has brought up things with Victor in the past, but this was new and different for him. Different for the both of them. Sure, he had felt minor jealously at times, but not to the point where it bothered him. Not like this. Victor did what he could to reassure Yuri as he saw things were spiraling downward for him and wanted to prevent his emotions from getting out of hand.

"If it makes you feel any better, from this point on, I won't kiss anyone other than my husband."

"But I'm not— Oh come on!" Yuri said realizing that there would be no more kisses between them until the wedding.

"Can you really go more than a day without kissing me?" Yuri asked as he leaned in close to Victor trying to entice him.

"Can you?" Victor asked closing the gap.

They both hesitated for a moment, each wanting to kiss the other before finally resting their foreheads together as they laughed. Yuri was feeling a little better, and Victor could tell that his mood was changing. After the outrageous events of last night, it was time for them to crack down and get serious for preparations for rehearsal dinner tonight and the actual wedding tomorrow.

Later that night at the rehearsal dinner, after going through a mock ceremony, and figuring out everyone's places for tomorrow, Victor pulled Chris aside to chat with him to seek out confirmation that nothing happened in the hopes of being able to fully reassure Yuri and to make him feel better about the situation.

"So, how are those vows coming along?" Chris asked.

"I think I got everything pretty much written down."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I just…there's so much I want to say to him, and I don't know how to say it, or if it will make any sense if I try to fit it all. Every time I go over them, I feel like there's more I want or need to add. I don't know how many times I've started over and rewritten these vows."

"Well, go over them tonight, think of anything else you could possibly want to say and see where it could fit in with what you already have, make a final copy, and that will be what you say to Yuri tomorrow" Chris suggested.

Victor agreed with Chris's idea and figured he'd do just that. Things were silent for a moment before Victor brought up last night's events.

"I actually wanted to ask you something about last night" Victor began

"Yeah, what's up?"

"We didn't… do anything… did we?" Victor asked trying to frame the question.

"Anything as in…?"

"Anything beyond something I would normally do with you…"

"Aside from grabbing my butt and being all touchy, feeling my face and whatnot, nothing out of the ordinary drunk or sober Victor would do."

"So, I didn't kiss you or anything?"

Chris was taken aback hearing this question wondering where this was coming from and what made Victor ask this.

"No, of course not. And even if you wanted to, I wouldn't have let you, especially not when Yuri was right in front of us. What brings this up?"

Victor explained how he had talked to Yuri this morning about what might have happened last night and that he was just looking for clarity to hopefully reassure his fiancé, and himself, that everything was fine. While Yuri never explicitly said it, Victor knew that Yuri's worry of Victor possibly leaving him was stirring up. He discussed it with Chris for a bit to see what he could do. As Victor and Chris were speaking amongst themselves, Yuri conveniently walked out to the patio with a question for Victor, picking up on part of their conversation.

"Leave Yuri for me?" Chris scoffed at the idea.

"Yeah, I know."

"I must be pretty damn special."

"Well it's not like you aren't a catch, you are quite handsome" Victor said playfully.

"You think so?" Chris said seductively playing along.

The groom and his best man took a moment to laugh at such an outrageous idea. Victor and Chris went on with their conversation.

"I honestly don't think you can get better than him. He truly completes you."

"And I love him with every inch of my being."

Little did either of them know that Yuri had been there listening them entire time. He didn't say anything. As soon as Yuri heard them laughing, he quietly and quickly backed away, not sticking around to hear that last part they were saying. Yuri immediately felt panicky. He felt his worst fears were actually coming true.


	7. Chapter 7: Always By Your Side

**Chapter 7: Always By Your Side**

Yuri headed to the bathroom to try to make sense of things and to have a place to fall apart in private rather than in front of everyone. He quickly rushed past everyone who noticed his urgency and wondered what was up with him. Phichit saw his face and knew that something was wasn't right and went after him. Yuri entered the bathroom with Phichit immediately behind asking him what was wrong and what had happened. Yuri was a rambling mess, pacing back and forth, and tears flowing as he went on about how Victor was planning on leaving him. Phichit, who was very confused, grabbed onto Yuri's shoulders and tried to get him to calm down for a moment asking him to just stop and breathe before he tried to talk some sense into him.

"Dude, you're literally getting married to him tomorrow" Phichit said trying to rationalize with Yuri.

"It's not like people haven't been left at the altar before."  
"He's not going to do that."

"But what if—" Yuri said about to begin another sting of hypothetical scenarios to try and explain what he had just witnessed.

"Come on, Victor loves you, there's no way he would do something like that."

Yuri paused as he tried to calm down and really think everything through, but his mind and emotions were already spiraling.

"I don't know what to do."  
"Hey, why don't you go talk to him? It sounds like maybe you just heard things wrong" Phichit suggested.  
"But…"  
"No buts! There has to be some kind of explanation. There's no way Victor would ever think of leaving you."

Something inside Yuri was telling him that Phichit was probably right, that maybe he had misheard and interpreted things the wrong way, but he couldn't think logically at the moment. If anything, Yuri knew he at least had to speak with Victor like his best friend suggested. Phichit handed Yuri a tissue and encouraged him to just talk to Victor to sort everything out. Once Yuri was calmed and more level headed, he and Phichit exited the bathroom and Yuri went back outside to the patio to talk to Victor.

"Hey, um…Victor, can we talk?" Yuri asked with his head down as he walked towards him and Chris.

They both turned around to see Yuri and were surprised to see him like this. Victor became immediately concerned wondering if everything was okay. Chris saw himself out so that he could give the couple some privacy. They waited for Chris to go back inside before speaking.

"What's wrong? It looks like you've been crying." Victor asked once they were alone.  
"That's because I have been."  
Victor looked puzzled and worried.  
"Is everything okay?" He asked.  
"Yeah… I umm… I heard you and Chris out here talking earlier. I just…" 

Victor asked about what, as they talked about a number of things while they were outside and nothing immediately stuck out to him. Once Yuri told him about the whole leaving him thing, Victor clarified the situation for Yuri and reassured him he had nothing to worry about.

"I figured as much. Maybe I just came in at the wrong part, but I wasn't thinking clearly. I'm just so scared of losing you… Nerves and everything let it all go to my head… I panicked."  
"It's okay, today has been a long day, and weddings are kind of stressful. I just want you to know that I'll never leave you. I wouldn't even dream of it… I love you far too much to hurt you like that, and to lose something I cherish."

Victor and Yuri sat down on the steps with Victor placing his head upon Yuri's shoulder, closing his eyes. They took a moment to enjoy this moment of silence before Victor started chuckling to himself as he sat up to look at the stars.

"What?" Yuri asked looking up at his soon to be husband.  
"Nothing. Just thinking about the exact moment that I realized I loved you."  
"There was a moment for you…?"  
"Hmm. Yeah, sort of. It almost feels like I've loved you from the beginning, but there was just a moment where I knew. I realized at Cup of China how I really felt about you. How much I really cared for you as more than just a coach and a friend. I guess you can say I was always into you. But in that moment after your free skate, I knew right then. I could just feel my heart swell with emotions, and I felt so much love. I just wanted to…"  
"Run up and kiss me?"  
"Ha, ha, well yeah." Victor laughed.  
"I still can't believe that was our first kiss…" Yuri said remembering the moment.  
"Sorry I didn't make it special or romantic or anything."  
"I wouldn't have wanted it any other way" Yuri said looking deep into Victor's eyes.

"At what point did you realize you were in love?" Victor asked braking Yuri's trance.

"I don't know. It was gradual yet all of a sudden at the same time. That day we spent at the beach in Hasetsu when you first started coaching me… after opening up to you, I felt… something. I felt closer. I wanted to be closer, but in a way I'd never felt before. I didn't really understand it at first." Yuri stopped for a moment and lightly laughed as he felt slight embarrassment remembering that day and what happened next. "Then when you asked what I wanted you to be to me, and when you said boyfriend, of course I freaked out a little. It started making sense then. That was the kind of closeness I wanted. It was all I could think about after that. But I couldn't just tell you. Well, I guess I could have, but I didn't know how."  
Victor laughed to himself remembering that moment too.  
"Well, you're certainly better at showing it than saying it."  
"After our time together in China, I knew my feelings for you were so much more. More than what I was expecting…"  
"Now look at us. In just a few hours we'll be married."  
"All I wanted was to stand on the same podium as you, and now I'll be standing at the altar with you."

Victor paused as he started thinking about how he came to this point in his life realizing it all started with the impulse decision to go train Yuri in Japan.

"Yakov was right. I am selfish. Well I can be. I was at a point in my life where I wasn't sure where to go or what to do next. Taking a break and becoming a coach seemed like the perfect thing for me to do next. I thought it would give my life the meaning and direction it lacked. But I found something else instead."  
"What was it?"  
"Ah, I won't say anything more. I don't want to go repeating my vows before I say them to you tomorrow."

Yuri felt he knew the answer, but he just wanted Victor to say it. They had both unexpectedly found love in each other. Love like none other, that grew into something beautiful. Yuri tried to go in for a kiss before they went back inside, but Victor leaned away as Yuri made his advances.

"Nope! These lips are for my husband only… and I can't wait to put them anywhere he wants."  
"You're such a tease!" Yuri said playfully shoving Victor.

They went on recounting the times they spent together and the special moments in their relationship like their first official date and the first time they made love. The husbands-to-be eventually went back inside to finish things up at the rehearsal dinner before returning to the hotel to rest before the big day tomorrow.

…

No more waiting and anticipation, the day of the wedding was finally here. Victor arose early before any set alarms went off as the sunlight from the beautiful day poured into the room. He looked over at Yuri, who was still sleeping, admiring the man he would be spending the rest of his life with after today, feeling overjoyed and excitement for what this day meant for the both of them. Victor sat up in bed for a few moments, looking out the window at the sakura trees all about the landscape and he just couldn't wait to see the wedding venue. Victor got out of bed and decided to shower and get ready for the day. Once out of the bathroom, he heard Yuri's phone alarm going off. Yuri reached one hand from under the covers to turn it off, but remained in bed hoping to drift back off to sleep and rest a bit longer.

"Wake up sleeping beauty" Victor called to Yuri in a sweet tone.  
"Five more minutes…" Yuri mumbled as he rolled over.  
"But today's our wedding day! Aren't you excited?"  
"Of course I am. I'm just sleepy."

Yuri sat up and yawned as he grabbed his glasses from the side table. He looked over out the window and took notice of the beautiful weather outside and knew that today was going to be perfect. He looked back towards Victor who was getting dressed, admiring his soon to be husband. He felt his heart beating faster as the realization of what was happening set in. He got up and surprised Victor with an embraced from behind as he made his way to the bathroom. After Yuri was out of the bathroom, they ordered room service, and enjoyed a calm and peaceful breakfast together before they had to dive into the busy and somewhat hectic afternoon ahead of them.

Once done with breakfast, they headed out to the venue to meet with the wedding planner and to see how all the final preparations were going so far. The wedding planner was already at the ceremony space in the garden making sure that the staff was setting up everything just right. Victor and Yuri approached the area in awe. Even though the space wasn't complete yet, they already loved how things looked. Even more than the first time they saw the space now that the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

"What do you guys think so far?" The wedding planner asked  
"It looks wonderful!" Victor said.  
"It's better than expected" Yuri added.  
"Great! Glad you like what's done so far. I have a few things to go over with you, but once all that's taken care of you two can start getting ready."

The wedding planner took the couple around to different places to make sure everything was in check before finally taking them to the rooms where they would start getting ready. Chris was already in Victor's dressing room, and Phichit was already in Yuri's. The rest of the wedding party was in another room getting ready together.

The grooms started getting ready with their respective best man assisting along the way. As Yuri was getting dressed, he felt his heart flutter as he sat there anxiously waiting. He felt nervous, but in an excited way. It was like how he felt when Victor first started coaching him. Nerves, excitement, and disbelief that this was actually happening. It almost felt like he was going to be meeting Victor for the first time. Yuri wasn't sure how to handle all of these emotions. He was so wrapped up in the excitement that he didn't notice Phichit handing him a glass of champagne.

"Huh? Should I really be drinking before the wedding?"  
"You could stand to loosen up a bit."  
"I guess one glass won't be so bad" Yuri said taking the glass from his friend.

"How about a toast then?"

They clinked their glasses together and downed the champagne in no time. Yuri finished his glass and set it down on the vanity. He looked into the mirror, took a deep breath and let it out. He then opened the jar of hair gel in front of him, and slicked his hair back just so. Phichit came by with his suit jacket and help Yuri into it. He was just about ready, all he had to do was tidy up minor details and wait for the call to line up.

In the other room, Victor and Chris were busy getting ready. The both of them were almost finished getting ready when Mari came knocking on the door with Makkachin fully dressed in his doggy tux. Victor was completely distracted and began taking a ton of pictures and petting the adorable dog.

"Victor, you should really finish getting ready" Chris reminded.  
"Oh yeah, you're right."

Makkachin went to lay on the ottoman in the room while the men finished getting ready. Victor looked in the mirror to make sure his hair was perfectly parted and neatly laid. He finished putting on the final touches adding his cufflinks and his tie. Chris went up to him and added his gold pocket square and straightened his tie. He then stepped back to get a good look at Victor.

"Well?" Victor asked as he turned in a circle to show off his look.

"Stunning. Just wait until Yuri gets to see this."

"I can't wait to see him" Victor said, remembering back to when they were at the tuxedo shop and how good they looked together.

Now that Victor was fully dressed, he went over to his to do list to make sure that he wasn't forgetting to do anything.

"Ring in pocket. Check. I've got— oh…" Victor stopped his thought process as he noticed the bottom of his _to do_ list said "Yuri Katsuki-Nikiforov". He looked over at Chris who had a smirk on his face and was chuckling to himself knowing that Victor had seen the final item he added. Chris looked away as if he had nothing to do with it as Victor chuckled along with him.  
"We'll put a star next to this one…" Victor said quietly.

Right as Victor and Chris finished getting ready, there was another knock on the door. Chris went to see who it was and it was member of the wedding staff who helped with setup and chaperoning. He walked in the room and told Victor that there were some guests who wanted to see them. Chris turned to Victor and raised one eyebrow as if to ask what this was about. Victor shrugged his shoulders, not having the slightest clue. He went out and followed the worker to an empty hallway where two people were waiting. The staff member promptly left as Victor immediately recognized who was standing in front of him.

"It's… you. You came…" Victor said as he saw the people who needed to speak with him were his parents.

"Let's talk somewhere private" his mother said.

Victor silently agreed and the three of them proceeded to walk to a different part of the country club away from the wedding where there were far less people. They went down a narrow hallway and into a private room at the end of the hallway where they could speak, unheard and unseen.

"This is actually happening… you, getting married… to another man." his father started off.  
"You know Victor, I always imagined you would be standing next to a beautiful girl in a lovely white gown…" his mother trailed off in thought.

"Yeah, I know…" Victor said.  
"I can't help but feel like I failed as a mother" she said.

Victor didn't say anything. She did fail as a mother by not being there and loving the child she had, but Victor knew that's not what she meant by that statement. He only waited and thought as he tried to figure out what she was getting at and why his parents were really here then.

"Victor, you can't seriously be doing this" said his father.  
"What? Oh, please don't start" Victor said annoyed.  
"You were supposed to do great things with your life and uphold the family name, and find a nice girl to give your last name to. And what are you doing instead?" his mother went on.  
"Living my life the way I see fit" Victor said confidently.

"You think this is some way to live, you disgusting, filthy, worthless scum" his father said directly to his face while tightly gripping the lower half of his chin, almost as if he were choking him.

"Take your hands off of me... Now!" Victor demanded while grabbing his hand to make the man loosen his grip.

The man let go and looked at Victor like he absolutely despised him. Victor looked back with equal contempt and intensity in his eyes.

"We can't do this then. We don't support this at all" his father proclaimed.

"You really came all this way to tell me this?" Victor asked.  
"We can't fully accept you back into our live, and certainly won't be a part of your atrocious life if this is how you chose to live it" his mother said.

"Maybe if you decide to just stop this now and rethink things, and learned to love a woman like a _real man_ …" his father began.

Victor started tuning out his parents. He already felt the anger seething through him. He was done hearing what they had to say. His mind was swimming in a sea of confusion and emotions. Was this actually happening? _"Are they really suggesting I call off the wedding just for them to be in my life?"_ Victor thought to himself among the many other thoughts rushing through his mind. He loved Yuri more than anything, and the love he felt was real. As much as he would love to have his parents back in his life and to make things better, he concluded what he had known all along. His parents would never accept him so long as the possibility of him being with a man remained, and today that possibility would be a reality for the rest of his life. His parents were actually here, trying to convince and coerce him to do things their way on his wedding day. At this point, Victor had had enough. He was done arguing his case. Done trying to explain things to them, trying to win them over, wanting them back in his life.

"This was just a ruse, a last ditch effort to make thing the way you want because you think this is something I can change! You never cared to make things better did you?"  
"Well we had to try something. Anything to maybe change your mind one last time. We tried to get to know you and understand… _this_ … but we just can't. This isn't right" his mother replied.

"We were hoping that maybe you weren't a lost cause, that maybe we could accept you back into the family again if you would just stop this nonsense" his father added.

Victor began shaking his head as he listened to his parents. He no longer wanted to hear what they had to say to him. It was pointless to keep trying.

"No, I'm done. I'm done calling you my parents. I'm done with you still somehow having control over me and my life. I don't want either of you in my life anymore. Leave. I hope I never see either of you again."

"If that's how you really feel. Who would want a faggot as a son anyway" his father said more than happy to exit his life right this moment.  
"Get out!"

His parents turned to leave, but his mother stopped to deliver one last blow.

"You know, you were right. We rather not have had a son at all had we known you would turn out like this. I wish I never gave birth to you."

The words hit Victor like a stone hitting the surface of the water causing ripples on the surface and sinking deep. He'd almost wished she would have hit him instead. The pain would have been far less. He felt his body ache, and his limbs become heavy at the meaning of her words. He grabbed a chair and took a seat staring into nothingness as he tried to let his mind go blank to prevent thinking about what just happened. Victor completely lost track of time as he sat alone in the private room.

Meanwhile, with just ten minutes left before the ceremony, the wedding planner called for everyone to begin lining up. Phichit and Yuri exited the room to join everyone else to wait. Yuri looked around hoping to see Victor already out, or walking out towards everyone, but that didn't happen. He noticed that Chris wasn't around either. He began to wonder what was taking them so long to come out, or if something happened. Yuri was beginning to feel unsettled. Something wasn't right. Soon everyone else started wondering where Victor was. Not too long after everyone began to question the whereabouts of the second groom, Chris came walking towards them with Makkachin, but without Victor.

"Have any of you seen Victor?" Chris asked.  
"You mean he isn't with you?" Yuri asked back.  
"No, I went looking for him when I realized that time was getting close and he still wasn't back."  
"Oh no… no, no, no…" Yuri said as he began to panic a little.  
"Hey, I'm sure everything is fine and there's a reason why he isn't here yet." Phichit said comforting Yuri. After his mini meltdown at the rehearsal dinner in the bathroom last night, Phichit had an idea of what was going through his head.  
"Did he say where he was going? Have you tried calling him?" Phichit asked while Yuri paced back and forth trying to calm himself down and be reasonable about what was happening right now. Chris reached into his pocket and held up Victor's phone to show he couldn't be reached.

"He didn't really say where he was going… A staff member came to us and said that some guests needed to speak to him. He said he would go see what it was about and that he'd be back soon, but…" Chris told Yuri and Phichit.

Yuri stopped pacing and thought about who these guests could be, and why Victor still wasn't back from speaking with them. That feeling of something being wrong was growing inside of him. His mind swiftly switched to needing to find Victor and that's all he could focus on.

"I'm going to find him" Yuri said definitively.

He went back inside to search for his fiancé checking the places Chris said he already looked just to be sure he hadn't turned up in those places between now and then. He then went to look for staff members who were still setting up the ball room for the reception. Yuri hoped that maybe he would talk to the one who told Victor about the guest he needed to see, but he honestly just hoped someone had seen him or at least could give a clue as to where he is. He asked around a bit, but no one seemed to have answers. Yuri was beginning to feel a little discourage until one worker overheard his conversation with another worker and chimed in giving him some useful hints. Yuri was told that they had seen Victor walking with two individuals, a man and a woman, towards the back of the clubhouse where there were private rooms. The worker described the individuals as both were wearing sunglasses and the woman was wearing a sunhat while the man had on a fedora. That was all the staff member could tell Yuri, but that was more than enough information.

Yuri swiftly went off in the same direction the worker pointed him in hoping this would finally lead him to his groom. Yuri pondered the description of the guest. _"Why would two people, a man and a woman need to talk to Victor, and why they both would be trying to hide their identity?"_ he asked himself. Yuri felt he already knew the answer and who they were, but didn't want to believe it because he knew if he was right, that things probably weren't good.

.

Yuri was now going down the same long and somewhat narrow hallway that Victor had gone down earlier. He saw two people quickly walking towards him, a man and a lady, both wearing sunglasses and the woman wearing a sun hat matching the description. He could see the bright blue eyes behind the sunglasses, and the man's shoulder length hair gave away their identity. At first, he couldn't believe his eyes, but he knew without a doubt who they were. He could tell by their disposition that they weren't here to stay and were most definitely on their way out. He also figured that meant things probably didn't go well with Victor. Yuri stepped out of the way against the wall to let the pair pass by, glaring at them then entire time. _"I hope Victor is okay."_ he thought while remaining hopeful, and while also hoping that he would find him.

Yuri came to the end of the hallway where there was only one room. He carefully knocked on the door and asked if anyone was in there, calling to Victor, hoping for a response. A few moments of silence went by before the door opened for him to discovered his very soon to be husband, in the room by himself.

"Victor!" Yuri said excitedly. His expression was happy, but swiftly changed at the realization that something wrong. "Is everything okay?"

Victor didn't say anything, and sat down again, avoiding eye contact. Yuri carefully debated how to approach him.

"They ended up coming after all" Victor finally vocalized.

"I take it they're not here to stay."

"Yeah, in fact I told them I never want to see them again…"

"What… happened here?"

"They did what they always do…"

Victor explained everything that had just happened to Yuri while still trying to hold it all together.

"I wanted nothing more than to have them in my life again, for them to finally accept me, and the chance for that to happened seemed so real, right now. I thought this was finally going to be it. Why was I so foolish to believe that could happen? Why, after everything they've done to me, did I still want them to be a part of my life?" Victor questioned himself.  
"Well, you usually tend to see the bright side of things, or make a bad experience into a positive one."

"I guess my strength is also my weakness…"  
"Also they… _were_ supposed to be your parents. It's not an absurd thing to want them in your life... even after what they've done."

"God why did I let myself believe this could happen…" Victor said getting up and facing away from Yuri as he began to blame himself more for what has happened.

Yuri couldn't figure out how to console him this time. Victor was hysterical, any words Yuri tried to say to him went over his head. Yuri would call out his name and begged him to calm down for just a moment, but to no avail. Just as Yuri was running out of ways to try and help Victor, there was a knock on the door. Victor stopped talking but was still swimming in a sea of thought and emotions, while Yuri called out to see who it was. To both of their surprise, it was Yuri's parents who had also gone looking for them when the realized the ceremony was starting late. Yuri opened the door to let them in and they could sense something was off.

"Is everything alright here…?" Hiroko Katsuki asked.

Victor took a seat and slumped down with his face buried in his hands. Yuri looked over at Victor then gave his mother a sympathetic look.

"His parents paid a visit…" Yuri said

"They basically came here to tell me that they would only be willing to be in my life if I called the whole thing off. I was pretty much fed up at that point and told them to leave and to stay out of my life… to which my mother responded with wishing she'd never had me…"

Repeating the words out loud hurt just as much as hearing them and tears started to fall from Victor's face. Hearing that last line struck Mrs. Katsuki in her heart. She couldn't imagine feeling regret for having her children, nor could she imagine any mother who could possibly feel that way, let alone say it to their child's face. She pulled out a handkerchief from a small handbag she carried and sat down beside Victor to wipe away his tears while she held him in her arms.

"She doesn't realize the amazing person she lost. She may regret having you, but I am so, _so_ thankful that you are here. And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. There are so many people glad to have you in their life" she said looking up at Yuri.

"Mom's right you know" Yuri said going in for a hug.

"The Katsuki family is happy to have you, and we're glad to call you our son-in-law" Toshiya Katsuki said joining in on the hug.

Victor knew he was loved by many. Fans and followers, and the love he got from his fame fueled him for a while, but just when that love was no longer enough to fill the void, that's when Yuri came into his life. It was just what he needed and just in time. And with Yuri came a loving and supportive family, something he'd never really had.

"Don't let this ruin your big day for you" Hiroko said releasing Victor. "You're truly an incredible man, and I'm so happy my son gets to spend the rest of his life with you."

"Thank you, I feel so grateful to be accepted as part of your family"

"Today is something big for the both of you. You're moving into a new chapter of your life. It's time to move on from the life you knew and time to start making more new memories together" Mrs. Katsuki added.

"Marriage is… it can be a challenge sometime. There will be bumps in the road, but at the end of the day, you have to remember you'll always have each other. And that you still love the other just the same." Mr. Katsuki said putting his arm around his wife.

Hiroko and Toshiya wished the two of them happiness and gave them a few more words of encouragement before they left them be to head back to the ceremony space to take their seats.

"Are you going to be okay?" Yuri asked.

"So long as I have you by my side."

Yuri smiled and started leaning in for a kiss, but Victor put one finger up to his lips to stop him, giving Yuri a cheeky smile instead.

"Ah! Not until we're married."

"Geeze, still on about that? Then what are we sitting around here for, let's go get married."


	8. Final Chapter: Destiny, the Lovers

**Final Chapter: Destiny, the Lovers**

Victor and Yuri walk out of the private room, back down the hallway, hand in hand, as they made their way back to their wedding party. Everyone was alerted of their arrival as soon as Makkachin barked and ran up to both of them. Looks of relief were all around as the wedding party saw that Victor had been found and that everything appeared to be fine.

"Well look who decided to finally show up to their own wedding" Yurio said as he saw Victor and Yuri walking towards them holding hands.

The couple laughed off Yurio's comment and instead stopped to pet their cutest groomsman while the others gathered around to see what happened asking if everything was okay.

"Sorry to make anyone worried. There was a situation that had to be taken care of, but it's okay now." Victor said giving the vaguest of details. But that led everyone to more questions, and wondering what exactly happened. The wedding planner however put a halt to the mini interrogation to finally get the wedding started, not giving Victor or Yuri a chance to explain any further. 

"This is all fine and dandy, but we're about to be way behind schedule. Places everyone!" The wedding planner said handing both Victor and Yuri their own bouquets of pastel yellow, pink, and white roses.

Everyone did as the wedding planner said and lined up in their appropriate spots with Yuri and Victor next to each other at the end of the lineup. The pianist was cued to start playing Pachelbel's Canon in D major and a hush came over the wedding guest as the ceremony was finally beginning. The wedding procession began with Chris, followed by Phichit as they stood on appropriate sides by the altar. They advanced toward the large sakura tree that looked as if the branches were covered in soft, pink cotton candy. The rest of the groomsmen walked out one by one, each taking their time stepping in tune with the soft melody. Next came Makkachin trotting down the aisle as a collective 'aww' spread across the guests. Once all of the groomsmen were aligned in their places, the officiant called for everyone to stand as Victor and Yuri prepared to march towards their future together.

"This is the moment we've been waiting for" Yuri said.  
"The moment of truth is right here."  
"No turning back now."  
"Ready?"  
"As ready as I'll ever be" Yuri replied. 

Yuri squeezed Victor's hand and Victor squeezed back as they both took a deep breath in and slowly released it. They looked at each other with determined eyes ready more than ever to open this new chapter in their life. Their fingers interlocked as they held their bouquets center to their chest, ready to go. The two walked towards the entrance of the garden where they saw everyone standing and waiting for them to make their way down the aisle.

Victor and Yuri began taking the first steps down the pathway that was littered in pink sakura petals, one foot in front of the other. Friends and family stood with happiness and excitement on their faces as they watched the happy couple make their way to the alter. Yuri's heart was nearly beating out of his chest, and Victor could hardly contain the joy he felt as they pressed forward. Seeing the finished space, and being surrounded by friends and family in this beautiful garden felt unreal to both of them. They finally arrived under a flowered archway and handed their rose bouquets to their respective best man, as they grabbed hands and faced each other. The music slowly faded and the officiant gave everyone the okay to take a seat, and began the ceremony.

"Ladies and gentlemen, friends and family, today we have come together to witness the union of Victor Nikiforov and Yuri Katsuki…" The officiant said to commence the ceremony. He went on to give a brief homily about marriage and love before the time came for the couple to give their vows. The officiant turned to Yuri for him to begin.

Yuri took a moment to collect himself before he spoke his vows. This was finally it. The day he only dreamed would happen. He looked up at Victor who had a smile of adoration on his face. Beams of sunlight streaked through the trees, illuminating him, as the wind gently and gracefully blew through Victor's hair scattering cherry blossom petals all around. Yuri smiled back at the beautiful man as he began to profess his promise of love. 

"Victor, never in a thousand years would I have ever expected to be where am I today. I know I'm not the best at saying how or what I feel, but right now I want to say all the things that have been in my heart. My love for you has grown into something I didn't think I was capable of. Never, in my life, did I expect to fall in love with you like this. You came into my life and changed it for the better. You showed me true happiness and compassion and support. You showed me what it means to love and to be loved in so many ways. You stood by me even when things were rough, and I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for me. Now I can't imagine my life without you, I'm so glad to have you in my life. I love you more than anything, more than I love myself. I want to stay by your side forever, and I promise to do just that. I promise to continue to love you in every way I know how, to be loyal and faithful, and to always cherish each moment we have together. I promise to always hold onto you and never let go. I vow to be there for you anytime, like you've always been there for me. You've become my everything, and I refuse to give that up. I love you, Vitya."

A smile spread across Victor's face as tears began to well up in his eyes. Yuri let out a chuckle as he tried to hold back his own tears. The officiant turned to Victor and told him to proceed with his vows. Victor drew in a quick breath and blinked away the tears as he prepared himself to say his vows to the love of his life.

"Yuri, I spent hours trying to think about what to say and where to begin. I've spent some of my happiest moments with you over the past few years. You came into my life at a time when I was at a loss for direction, and gave it a new purpose. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life, but now I know I want nothing more than to spend the rest of it with you. There's just so much I love about you, and so much I want to say to you, that I don't think I could even if we had all of the time in the world. So, starting from this point forward, I'll spend the rest of my days trying to express all of my love for you. With our first encounter, you caught me off guard. Who would have thought that I would become so interested in you, let alone fall completely in love with you? You've shown me a new world of love and given my life new meaning. You've helped me in ways you may not even realize and I'm thankful for you and everything you've done. And with that, I vow to continue to love and support you. I promise to be the best husband I can be and I promise that I'll always be faithful and be with you no matter what. I promise to continue to grow and reach new heights with you. And I promise you, I'll _never_ stop loving you."

Yuri was gleaming as tear drops fell from behind his glasses. Victor wiped them away smiling just as brightly with tears of joy rolling down his cheeks. They both laughed with grins spread wide as they wiped away each other's tears. The officiant waited, letting them have this tender moment before moving on with the rest of the ceremony.

It came time to exchange rings and the both of them began blushing as they remembered the moment they shared in Barcelona where they exchanged rings for the first time, only this time it would be official. Victor repeated the words of the officiant as he removed the gold band from Yuri's right hand and placed it on his left, followed by the diamond wedding band. Yuri repeated the motions of switching the gold ring as he felt the memories flooding his mind while he carefully slid both rings onto Victor's left hand.

With the rings exchanged and promises to each other in place, it was now time to declare their intent and make the marriage official. The officiant addressed Yuri and Victor and asked them the renowned lines that would finally bring them together as one.

"Do you Yuri Katsuki, take Victor to be your husband?"  
"I do."  
"Do you Victor Nikiforov, Yuri to be your husband?"  
"I do."

"Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you married. You may now kiss."

Victor and Yuri had jovial smiles stretched across their faces as they wrapped their arms around each other and shared a passionate kiss to seal in their marriage as delicate pink petals rained down on them. Everyone began applauding them, some drying their eyes, some still crying, but all smiling for the happy couple. Yuri placed one hand around Victor's waist, while keeping the other around his shoulder and neck as he swooped him down into a dip and kissed him again, completely catching him off guard. The wedding guest cheered for them as Yuri slowly raised him back up.

"Well aren't you full of surprises" Victor said feeling thrilled as he picked Yuri up, cradling him in his arm. He walked away carrying his newlywed husband down the aisle as a photographer snapped pictures all along the way. Victor carried Yuri all the way to another part of the garden where they would take photos while the wedding guest partook in cocktail hour.

The newlyweds took various photos together and with their wedding party to remember this day. After guests spent time chatting among other guests while snacking on hors d'oeuvres, everyone moved inside as the reception was preparing to start. As everyone was getting comfortable and situated at their tables, Yuri and Victor prepared for their grand entrance to the reception space. The D.J announced the married couple as Victor and Yuri Katsuki-Nikiforov as they entered the room that was adorned with sparkling chandeliers, tall floral center pieces, and white and gold decorations. Everybody watched while the lovely couple had their first dance. The two embraced, staring into each other's eyes, and waltzed around the room. They soon invited other guests to join them on the dancefloor. After dancing to a few songs and getting congratulated by a few people here and there, the married couple took a seat at their table as dinner was preparing to be served. A few friends and family members gave speeches to the couple during the meal telling them how happy they were for Victor and Yuri and wishing their marriage the best.

After the speeches and people clinking silverware against drinking glasses to encourage the newlyweds to kiss, the wedding guest finished up their meals and went back out to the dance floor to continue the fun. Victor and Yuri stayed at their table for a bit, finishing their wine while watching everyone enjoy themselves. Both Chris and Phichit had come by their table on separate occasions trying to get them up and dancing, but they declined, instead deciding to stick together for just a bit longer before having any fun. In an attempt to get them moving, the best men came up with a plan that would hopefully get the grooms on their feet. Not too long after Phichit and Chris came by, an oddly familiar tune started to fill the room.

"Why does this song sound so familiar…?" Yuri pondered trying to pinpoint why this song had any relevance to him.

Victor had a look of surprise and excitement on his face as he almost immediately recognized the song. Yuri however was still puzzled.

"Yuri… this is the song we danced to for the first time ever at the Grand Prix Final banquet" Victor said slowly turning his head to Yuri.

Yuri squinted at Victor before his eyes widened as flashbacks from that night rushed his memory as he began to recognize the song, and remember more parts of the dance they shared.

"Y-you're right… You're right! I remember that!"  
"You actually remember?"  
"Well I already told you that I did remember some parts… but now I'm remembering so much more" Yuri said blushing.

Victor got up and grabbed Yuri's hand, dragging him out to the dancefloor.

"Wait! W-what—"  
"We're going to dance to it again! This time so you can remember all of it."

Yuri didn't object and danced with his husband as the two had fun and let loose. Meanwhile over near the D.J booth, Phichit and Chris were standing together giving each other a high-five. Victor and Yuri were ecstatic dancing to the song that brought them together, Victor feeling just as much excitement as he did the first time, and Yuri remember just how fun he had that night with Victor, both glad that they were reliving the moment now. They danced to a few more songs after that before tiring and heading to the bar to take a break and have a drink. While there, Yuri's sister Mari found her way to the grooms.

"I can't believe my little brother is actually married. To you at that. How'd he pull that off?" Mari said as she approached Victor and Yuri.

"Well, he's got a cute face, and those sweet, brown eyes are irresistible sometimes. Or maybe it was just fate?"

"I'm glad that he found someone who loves him like you do…"

Mari threw her arms around Victor, holding onto him tightly. Victor carefully wrapped his arms around her also.

"Take care of him, okay?" she said to Victor while holding back tears.

"Of course,"

"Both of you, take care of each other" she said now taking Victor and Yuri's hands, bringing them together.

They both nodded and smiled at Mari as they held onto each other's hand.

"I remember when mom and dad brought you back from the hospital, and how excited I was to finally have a little brother… until you wouldn't stop crying and I begged them to take you back and get a different baby." Mari said laughing along with Yuri as she still tried not to cry, "But I wouldn't trade you for anyone."

Yuri smiled and hugged his sister as she wiped away a few tears that had escaped. Mari started making jokes to keep herself from crying even more. In the middle of all the laughter, Phichit came along to the bar to order himself a drink and offered to buy the grooms another round.

"No thanks… we don't want a repeat of the bachelor party" Yuri said declining the offer.  
"What happened at the bachelor party?" Mari asked curiously.  
"Oh, I can show you" Phichit replied readily grabbing his phone.

"No— don't show her!" Yuri began to say but it was too late.

Phichit was already swiping through photos from the adventurous night. In an attempt to get him to stop showing his sister the pictures, Yuri asked him a question that had been on his mind after having seen the photo that reminded him.

"Hey, by the way, what did you guys end up doing with all that money everyone threw on stage?" Yuri asked.  
"We decided to just donate it rather than figure out who it all belonged to" Phichit explained.

Mari laughed as she made a few more jokes with the grooms before wishing them the best and left them to mingle with other guests. Victor and Yuri decided to keep the energy going and opted that they would do a bouquet toss. They called for everyone who wanted to participate to gather around. Yuri grabbed his bouquet and stood in front for the crowd as he prepared to throw the flowers over his head behind him. Over off to the side of people ready for the bouquet toss were two of their younger groomsmen, Yurio and Otabek, not showing too much interest.

"What's even the point of this? It's so dumb" Yurio said standing next to Otabek, both of them aloof to the crowd.

"Eh, it's just another activity for people to do at weddings" Otabek replied.

Just as Otabek said that, to both his and Yurio's surprise, the bouquet landed in his hands. He looked at Yurio and shrugged not sure what to make of this irony. Victor saw what had happened and quickly told Yurio to catch, as he threw his bouquet at him. Yuri's face was red with slight anger and embarrassment as the second bouquet rested in his hands. Despite being unamused by Victor's antics, he and Otabek danced together and both boys appeared to be having fun.

Yuri and Victor went on to entertain and converse with their guests, some of whom they haven't seen in a long time. Victor went his own way, and Yuri got pulled aside by other guests separating the grooms for a while. Yuri was catching up with some friends from Hasetsu, when out of seemingly nowhere he was bombarded by another guest. It was his old ballet teacher who was always there to cheer him on at competitions. He was taken aback at first by her sudden appearance, but nonetheless happy to see her.

"Yuri! Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!"  
"Minako-sensei!" Yuri said surprised by the sudden hug he was receiving, "Thank you."  
"Hey Yuri, think you can score me a dance with handsome over there?" Minako asked pointing over to Chris.  
"Still his number one fan I see?" Yuri said  
"So long as he keeps up that sex appeal, I'll always be a fan."  
"I'll see what I can do."

Yuri went off into the crowd of guest as he made his way towards Chris. Yuri pitched the idea to Chris, to which he happily obliged. Chris found his way to Minako who was now casually talking among other guests while sipping on some wine. He tapped her on the shoulder and extended his hand.

"Care to share this dance?" He asked as she turned around.

Minako immediately accepted and the pair went out to the dancefloor. Yuri watched as his former ballet teacher danced with her favorite figure skater as Chris whisked her around, showing her a good time. He looked to another part of the room to see Yurio dancing with Otabek trying to seem uninterested, but still enjoying himself. Everyone was dancing and having a great time, even his parents were having fun together, but Yuri noticed that his husband had slipped away from the party back outside to the garden. Yuri went after him to see what he was up to.

Victor stood on the side of the building gazing out into the garden that was lit with lanterns. Yuri stepped outside and Victor turned to look at his new husband clad in his white suit bathed in moonlight. He smiled and continued looking out at the garden.

"Everything alright?" Yuri said standing next to his husband.  
"Yeah, I just needed to get some air…"

Yuri stood by him, not saying anything, waiting for Victor to speak what was on his mind, if anything at all.

"Despite everything that happened earlier, today is still the happiest day of my life."  
"What you lost you more than gained tonight."  
"Should they even be considered a loss…? It feels more like letting go of old baggage and finally moving on with my life. I feel so… free now. It feels great not desperately wanting them in my life anymore. To just let go on my own terms…"  
"That's a good thing. I'm glad that despite everything you went through, you came out stronger than ever."  
"I've experienced many moments like that with them growing up… you'd think I'd be used to it."  
"Still… that doesn't make it any easier to hear those kinds of things coming from your parents."

Victor paused for a minute trying to process various things in his mind.

"It's funny. Because of my— because of… them… I never really saw myself as getting married one day. They always saw things one way and I saw things another. Then after everything that happened, I never really thought about my future."  
"You know I never really saw myself getting married either… for different reasons… obviously."

Victor was surprised by this statement and was curious to know more.

"It's not something I ruled out, just something I never thought about. Before you, I hadn't really had any real relationships, so I never thought about anything long term, let alone marriage. I wasn't too sure about my future either. Not until you came along."

"Heh, two guys who never saw themselves married, now married to each other."  
"Go figure, right?" 

They both shared a heartfelt laugh at the realization that they both ended up in places they never thought they would be.

"To think this came about because I won a gold medal."

"You've really come a long way, haven't you?"

"Yeah, and you've been there since the beginning of this crazy journey. It still amazes me that you took a chance on me."

"I was just drawn to you. I guess you could say we were destined to be together. I'm just glad to be with you" Victor said tilting Yuri's chin up towards him.  
"I'm glad too." Yuri replied cupping Victor's cheek.

The two leaned in slowly and sensually kissed. Their lips locked, neither of them pulling away since this was the first moment they had alone together since the wedding started. Or so they thought they were alone. Peering from behind the glass door of the reception space was Phichit, Chris, and a few other friends cheering at them. The married couple separated as soon as they heard the commotion behind them.

"Woo! Things are getting steamy out here!" Phichit called.

"What are you guys doing out here? The party's inside!" Chris said.

"H-how long have you guys been there?!" Yuri stammered, his cheeks slightly pink.

"We heard you guys laughing and wanted to see what was going on" Phichit said.

"Well not much was going on out here. Just taking a breather to get some fresh air and some time alone with my new hubby is all" Victor explained  
"Oh you'll have plenty of time for that" Chris teased.  
"We should probably go back in now" Yuri said blushing and ignoring the comment.

Victor took hold of Yuri's hand as they went back to the reception with everyone behind them, ready to continue the party. Once back inside, they decided to do the cake cutting. A few guests came around as they watched the grooms hold onto the knife handle together making the first cut into their four-tier cake that was covered in white frosting and gold leaf and gold dust. They made the second incision and the first slice was served onto a plate. They served up a second slice and proceeded to dig in. Victor scooped up a fork full of cake and fed a bite to his husband. Yuri did the same, playfully teasing before actually feeding Victor the cake. Victor prepared to feed more cake to Yuri, but instead of going for his mouth, he smudged the cake on his cheek. Seeking revenge, Yuri smashed a chunk of cake into Victor's face and it turned into an all-out war from there. They both tried to get as much cake on the other's face as possible before finally calling a quits when Yuri could no longer see out of his glasses.

"You guys look ridiculous!" Phichit said laughing at the frosting covered grooms as he came by to take a selfie with them.

The three of them laughed as Phichit captured the moment on his phone. Then in an instant, Yuri swiftly wiped his cheek and transferred to cake onto his best friend's face, now covering him with smashed cake bits. Phichit pushed Yuri away still laughing even though he himself had cake on his face now. The best man got napkins so they could all clean their faces off as best they could while Makkachin was at their feet eating the bits and pieces that had fallen to the floor. After they were done with their cake war, servers cut up the rest of the cake and served it to the tables for the rest of the guest to enjoy. The party went on late into the night, with Victor and Yuri having the time of their life surrounded by loved ones.

As the reception came to an end, Victor and Yuri got into the back of a limo to return to the hotel as friends, family, and other wedding guest saw them off. Once back, Victor insisted Yuri carry him all the way back to the room. Yuri gladly scooped up his husband and carried him from the lobby back to their honeymoon suite. After struggling to open the door while still holding Victor, they entered a room with dimed lights and red rose petals trailing from the door to the bed. Yuri set Victor down as they both looked around at the room that had been transformed for them. Yuri took off his shoes and removed his suit jacket and tie as Victor went over to the bed and read aloud the note that was left for them, that told them to enjoy their night and their marriage. Victor also kicked off his shoes and tossed his jacket to the chair nearby as he laid flat back on the bed. Yuri came by and positioned himself above of Victor, caressing his face before he started going in with delicate kisses.

"You know I'm a married man now" Victor said, with Yuri still on top of him.

"Your husband must be a _very_ lucky man."

"I don't know how my husband would feel about this."  
"Oh I'm sure he wouldn't mind this at all. In fact, I think I recall you saying you'd put your lips anywhere your husband wants."

"Where do you want them" Victor asked sitting up.

"I think you know where" Yuri said pulling Victor's tie, bringing him closer.

Victor rolled over so that he was on top and unbuttoned Yuri's shirt leaving a kiss on each part of skin revealed by each undone button. He started kissing Yuri in all the right spots, biting and nibbling here and there. Yuri removed the tie around Victor's neck and also started undoing the buttons on his shirt as his husband went to work on him, pecking at different places on his neck. The newlyweds soon completely undressed as foreplay went on, and proceeded to consummate their marriage. After having spent most of the night making love, the two laid in each other's arms, wrapped in a post coitus embrace. Both men were silent drifting in their own thoughts while enjoying the other's presence.

Victor was pondering everything that has happened in his life thus far. A decision he made on a whim turned out to be the best thing to happen to him. Victor was content with how things were, that he no longer craved the love and support from his parents, that he now had all that and more moving on from here.

All of the events of today seemed unreal. In fact, Yuri felt this entire journey was unreal, that one day he would just wake up and it would all have just been a dream. Even if this was all just some fantasy, he knew one thing was real, and it was the love he felt for the person wrapped in his arms. He knew that in this _moment_ , his feelings were _true_.

"Vitya,"  
"Yes, Yuri?"  
"I love you."  
"I love you too."

 ***Authors Notes: Thanks to everyone who read and enjoyed my fic. This is the first time ever that I've wrote a fan fiction so I'm really happy to see how much people really like this. Be on the look out for more Yuri! On Ice stories from me in the near future. Expect a Katsudon Jr. somewhere along the line. Also, I plan on writing a short story about the events that happened in chapter 3 about Victor's past if that interests anyone.  
**Special thanks to narutokid16 and Heavens-Angel96 for encouraging me to start writing again love you guys****


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